Servitude, Scars and Sanctuary
by DuskApproaches
Summary: I remember when I ran. When I broke free of my chains with hope that I will make something out of myself. I found myself in the Whiterun guard not long after. I finally felt free and at peace with an exception of the nightmares. But one day, a foreigner was made thane as quickly as he arrived in Whiterun. My Jarl offered me a chance to be his housecarl. I accepted
1. Prologue Part 1

**12/11: Huzzah, I rewrote chapter 1. I didn't really change anything though, just kind of fixed the grammatical mistakes I had before. **

**AN: When I wrote this I wrote 15.000 words chapters and had two chapters in total. But uploading that would be absurd. No one wants to read a story with 15.000 word chapters that are only updated once every few months. I am quite new to uploading stories to this site so I apologise for anything wrong with the format. Let me know if there's anything wrong and I'll fix it (assuming I know how) **

* * *

**Narrator**

The rumbling uneven surface awoke the man sitting in the wagon. He had long black hair tied in a ponytail that hung all the way down to his waist. He furled his eyebrows as he observed his surroundings and realised his hands were bound. It was an unfortunate situation to be in.

"Hey you," the blond Nordic man sitting in front called out to him. "You're finally awake. You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that imperial ambush just like me and that thief over there."

The man in question turned his head towards the man in rags.

He noticed that the nord was wearing armour. Light armour, hardly enough to protect one from attacks, but the blue across the centre possibly symbolised an allegiance to an army. He quickly focused his attention to the thief whom began speaking.

"Damn you, Stormcloaks! Skyrim was fine until you came along. Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn't been looking for you, I could have stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell. You there," the thief said turning to the long-haired man. "You and I, we shouldn't be here. It's these stormcloaks the empire wants."

He finished, snarling at the blond nord.

"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief," the blond nord said calmly

"Shut up back there!" the carriage driver called out.

"What's his problem?" asked the thief completely ignoring the driver. To the right of the thief, there was another nord wearing a higher class armoured fur with his mouth gagged unlike all other prisoners.

"Watch your tongue!" the blond snapped. "You are speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true high king."

"You. You're the leader of the rebellion," the thief's eyes widened in realisation. "If they've captured you—oh gods! Where are they taking us?"

"I don't know," replied the blond nord, his composure returning. "But Sovngarde awaits."

"No!" the thief panicked. "This can't be happening! This isn't happening."

"Does denying the truth make you feel better, thief?" The long-haired man finally spoke. The thief didn't reply. He merely buried his face in his hands wishing to wake up from this nightmare.

"Why are you upset? You want to be free…don't you?"

The thief didn't reply so they stayed in silence waiting for the gods to decide their fate. The blond nord decided to break the silence as they crossed a bridge.

"What village are you from, horse thief?"

"Why do you care?" the thief replied quickly still panicked, not without good reason.

"A nord's last thought should be of home."

"Rorikstead. I'm from Rorikstead."

"What about you, kinsman," the blond turned to the man in front of him.

He clicked his tongue as though deciding whether or not to answer.

"Down south."

"A northerner from the south...I'll never hear the end of that."

"Me, neither. I travelled near a year just to get killed. Good thing I didn't make any plans then..."

The wagons made their way into a city surrounded by stone walls. The sight gave the blond soldier a strong sense of nostalgia.

"Funny. When I was a boy, imperial walls and soldiers made me feel so safe." the soldier muttered.

"You are a not a boy anymore," came the reply from across of him. "Do you regret joining the rebellion?"

"Never," the soldier answered, his voice rising with confidence.

"Good," the once across from him nodded. "That's all the matters when you die."

"Why are we stopping?" asked the thief as the wagon came to a halt.

"What do you think? End of the line."

"Do not be afraid. Fear isn't going to save you."

* * *

**Narrator**

A strong boot to her back sent the young girl crashing into the floor.

"CAN'T YOU DO ANYTHING RIGHT?" came an indignant voice from a large muscular man stretching out a whip in his hand as he approached. He did not scream, but his voice was still loud enough to boom through the empty mansion.

"I'm sorry," the young girl barely choked out.

The man put his right foot onto her head and pushed downward forcing out a small scream.

"I'm sorry… what?"

"I'm sorry, master," the young girl whispered with the last of her energy.

"Good." The man cracked his whip in the air. "Now stand up."

Many slaves of the imperial city were born into slavery and have never experienced freedom. How can there be slaves in the imperial city, though? Slavery was declared against the law long before. Well, the answer is simple. If there is one thing that is stronger than the law it would be wealth. However this girl was different from the others. She lived a normal life in the early days and used that to keep her going. She had hopes for the future, and hope is the first step to change. Her body held together by her soul, she continued on living her life in chains, for she knew that one day she would break free. She had been planning that day for months.

Today was that day.

Everything went according to plan. She provoked the master enough for him to lose his concentration due to emotions of anger and contempt. This caused her ongoing pain that was so agonising she could hardly think, but the provocation led to the result of being thrown into her cage with two keys now in the girl's possession.

_Finally! After all this time, _the young girl thought as she held the keys in her hand like the most precious gems in the world. But, then again, what are pretty rocks for a chance of freedom. _If these are the wrong keys, I'm going to kill myself._

She fumbled with the lock until managing to open it. Quietly crawling out of the room towards the back door and cleaning up the drips of blood she leaves with her roughspun brassiere, she takes out her second key. Slowly turning the key to not make a single sound, the door opened with a faint click. She opened the door only a little crack no more than a few centimetres but she was able to easily slip through.

_Who's laughing at not feeding me now...master?_

* * *

**Narrator again**

The Nordic man could not help but let out a small chuckle as the cart closed in on its destination.

"What could possibly be funny at the dusk of our lives?" the soldier asked him. It was impossible to tell his tone. It was a mix of anger and distress.

"Is this how the nords greet their returns kinsman? I'm returning home to my roots, and I'm being killed for no reason at all by the roots I hoped to return to."

"These men aren't true nords."

The carts ran over a bump as it came to a stop. A Nordic man with a paper and quill in his hands stood before the prisoners.

"Come as I call your name," he said calmly. "Ralof of riverwood." He did not look up from his parchment as Ralof joined the stormcloaks surrounding the chopping block.

"Lokir of Rorikstead."

"Wait!" Lokir shouted. "I'm not a rebel! You can't do this!" His pleas fell on deaf ears. Nothing could change an imperial soldier's mind, not even reason. But Lokir's will to survive was too strong. And it motivated him to run in a desperate attempt to escape even though he knew he would not be successful. He was shot down by archers almost immediately. A coward dies a coward's death.

"You there!" the legionnaire called out to the nord, breaking his train of thought. "Step forward. Who are you?"

The nord stepped forward, almost close enough for them to touch.

"Why does it matter?" he whispered.

"What?"

"I asked you why it matters. Why would you want to know who I am?"

"When an imperial asks you a question, you will answer." The soldier stated.

"No… I'm not going to do that," The nord responded. "Knowing my name would just make your conscience heavier." Before a reply could be made, he went to join the rebels. The soldier decided it was not worth it to pursue the matter further.

"What was that about," Ralof muttered without turning his direction.

"Didn't feel like telling him my name, that's all."

* * *

**Narrator**

The young girl stayed away from the street lights. Carefully hiding in the bushes and moving from one to the other only when she was absolutely sure no one was looking. This was not the time to be risking failure. The outcome was going to be either success or failure. If she is caught, even if the master doesn't kill her, she will. Sneaking through the bushes was the easy part. The hard part would be getting through the gate. She belonged to an influential clan. The commonfolk didn't know about her but the guards and nobles did. If the guards saw her, they would surely take her back.

Two guards stood watch beside the gate. Their minds clear, their eyes open on the lookout for any and all disturbances that could happen in the darkness of the night. So, the girl did what anyone would do to attract a guard's attention. Explode the town square. The town square was almost set up for an explosion. Torches decorating the pillars, bowls of fat aligned on the shelf of the market stall. Everything was perfect. The light show was more than enough to get all the guards of the city running towards the centre. Yet, it did not make enough sound to awaken any citizens, or at least ones willing to investigate the disturbance.

While the guards were concluding the fire was an accident, the girl was opening the gates. She opened them slightly and sidestepped out, but it was then when a voice from behind made her face go pale and heart go quiet.

"Hey! Where are you going?" She turned around slowly to face the guards. How could she have been so stupid? There are also city guards on the outside of the gates.

"Wait," the second guard's face began to twist from one of disgust to one of recognition, "I recognise you." That was the cue for her to run as fast as she could, she wasn't well built or a runner but running quickly wasn't a choice. She made it too far to give up now. The guards chased after her. But their heavy armour quickly did its toll on their stamina.

After almost one hour of sprinting, the girl collapsed beside a tree.

_Finally, _she thought. _Now, I just need to go back home. _Then she froze, and realised that trying to go back to her family would just undo what she just accomplished. As much as she wanted to see her mother again, nothing was more valuable than her freedom. _ No, no I can't go back. I need to leave this place, I need to leave Cyrodiil. _

And so she made her choice, Cyrodiil wasn't safe for her. She had to go somewhere else, where she can start again. Skyrim, yes that was a good idea, she was a nord despite not having a lot of experience with the Nordic culture it was her best bet. She stood up again and looked to the sky. _If you can't find your way home, just follow the brightest star. _It was an old nord saying, but what it really meant was that the brightest star is always to the North.

* * *

**Narrator (it will stop being narrator soon, promise)**

A roar from the distance caught the attention of many. Most were just curious or frightened. But the eyes of one man in ragged clothing widened. The roar affected him somehow, he could not describe it but he recognised it.

"Problem?" Ralof asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No. Just wondering what made that sound." He lied.

"Yeah. Me, too. Not like it matters anymore."

The next few minutes were quick. General Tullius gave a short speech directed at Ulfric. He mentioned that Ulfric used the power of the voice to murder the high king. The prisoner perked up at the mention of the voice, but he had never heard of such a power before.

The mention of the voice seemed to cause another roar in the distance. The roar was significantly closer this time meaning whatever that may be causing it was traveling at a speed men and mer will never achieve.

"What was that?" asked one of the legionnaires.

"Probably nothing. Carry on," Tullius quickly replied as he left the spotlight.

"Give them their last rights," ordered an imperial captain. Her facial features were mostly covered by the legion helmet. The rest of her body was clad in steel exposing no skin, exposing no weakness. In response to her orders, an older woman dressed in humble monk robes began her speech. The speech was like any generic speech heard at an execution but something about the speech was off. When she mentioned the divines she said eight divines instead of nine. What happened to the last one.

"Shut up and let's get this over with," a stormcloak said marching up to the headsman's block. "What are you waiting for? I haven't got all morning!"

The general walked up behind him and pushed him onto the block.

"My ancestors are smiling at me, imperials," he stated with hatred in his last sentence. "Can you say the same?"

That was all that escaped his lips as the axe sliced through the fragile material known as flesh. Some people forget how easy it is to die.

_His last words showed his patriotism and his hatred for his enemies, _the ragged prisoner thought. _I might have respected that a few years back._

"As fearless in death, as he was in life." Ralof said those words with no emotion.

The prisoner was about to respond, but he was cut off by a strange voice in his head. The voice was deep and crackling with a strange accent. He was able to make out what it said but no idea what it meant. _Zu lost siiv hin, dovahkiin._

"Next. The nord in rags," the captain announced. The man she called was silent unlike the previous victim. Swiftly, he kneeled and placed his head on the iron block, staining his face with the blood of his kinsman. The headsman readied his axe, the stranger suddenly jumped back up and in a swift swing, cut off his own binds with the headsman's axe. Seeing the act of hostility the imperials began drawing their own weapons and preparing to attack before their attention was called for elsewhere.

"What in oblivion is that!?"

Something landed on the watchtower. It was dark as the night and bigger than the houses. It… shouted… at least it seems like it did. As the voice escaped the dragon's jaws, a cyclone appeared in the middle of the sky. The second shout knocked most people off their feet.

"Stand up, kinsman!" Ralof shouted at the prisoner. "The gods won't give us another chance!"

After standing up to follow Ralof, together they ran into another watchtower and closed the door.

"What was that? Could the legends be true?" Ralof panicked at Ulfric.

"Legends don't burn down villages," Ulfric replied keeping his calm posture.

The Nordic prisoner saw no time for chatting and sprinted up the stairs. Part of the roof had collapsed and another stormcloak was making an effort to move the debris. He was almost successful, but the walls broke and crushed the stormcloak underneath the stone.

"VOL TOOR SHUL!" Came a voice from the dragon forcing endless flames into the building. The prisoner nearly fell down backwards from the raw force despite the flames never touching him. He leaned against the wall until the dragon left. Then, he quickly jumped from the tower into the ruins of a house below. Jumping down five metres is never easy, but this was not his first time taking a leap of faith. He tumbled forward softening his fall and vaulted over the handrail to the ground floor. Upon running out the door, he was greeted by the same man who had sent him to the block only a few minutes ago. Except now, he was trying to save instead of to kill.

"Come here boy," he encouraged the young child to go into cover. The ex-prisoner sighed and grabbed the boy to drag him back.

"Still alive, prisoner? Stay close to me if you want to stay that way!" The soldier shouted as he ran. Seeing no other choice, the foreigner followed. They reached the door to Helgen Keep unfortunately crossing paths with the stormcloak from earlier.

"Ralof, you damned traitor! Out of my way."

"We're escaping. You're not stopping us this time, Hadvar."

Strange. They refer to each other by name. Perhaps they have known each other before the petty civil war started. Both men urged the prisoner into their companionship. But he knew better than to team up with an imperial, his name shouldn't be given out to these people. Like Ralof said, the imperials love their damn lists.

* * *

**Main character**

What a day. First day in skyrim, and I'm sentenced to execution for no damn reason. Perhaps the gods need my soul for some reason and this is their way of getting it. Or maybe I just have even worse luck than I knew. Either way, I don't plan on dying on a block by people I've never seen, not now at least, there's still a lot left I need to do.

I laid down my head on the headsman's block, not to die but to prepare to fight. Yet, before my fate was decided, something showed up. I have no description for what I saw. In the chaos it caused, I managed to escape into Helgen Keep with Ralof, a brother in binds.

We ran into the keep to see another stormcloak lying beside a table. Ralof swiftly dashed towards him to check for a pulse. There was none. Ralof offered for me to take his armour and weapon. The armour would be useful for defending myself against attacks, but I hardly have any experience with a war axe. In fact, I could probably do better with my hands.

"Don't want the axe?" Ralof asked me

"Not Nord enough I guess,"

I pulled on the vest and pants, but instead of wrapping the scarf around my torso, I wrapped it around my head hiding everything other than my eyes. I wouldn't want anyone to remember me. I heard the clicking sounds of metallic gear hitting the floor. Imperials no doubt. Ralof and I took respective positions on each side of the gate. I held my breath as the footsteps closed in on our location. Any sound I made at this point could give away my position.

The two rushed in, and the imperial captain almost immediately spotted Ralof. That was good for both of us as the small distraction was enough time for me to take an initiative. I kicked the lightly armoured soldier's ankle, sending him falling towards the floor. The captain drew her sword and swung it in my direction. I ducked under the sword and, before she could swing again, grabbed her wrist. I rammed my head into hers with enough force to make her drop the weapon.

_God damn helmets, _I thought as I held my forehead. From the corner of my eye, I saw the soldier getting up. So, to prevent him from causing an inconvenience, I stepped on his face multiple times until I could feel his brains under my boot. The captain ran towards me with her fists in the air and at the ready. I didn't move though, there were two of us after all. She swung her fist in my direction, but it was cut off by Ralof's axe with the swing's intended direction lodging the weapon into the back of her neck. I pushed away her body as she fell so it wouldn't land on me.

"Well, that was easy," I told Ralof as we descended further into the reach.

"You're not bad for someone who lived with kitty cats." he smirked a little

"Ever met a khajiit girl on her period?" Ralof made a face asking why I would ask

"No?" he replied, it sounded more a question than an answer however

"Than you don't know what you're talking about,"

"Hey," Ralof said as we reached the bottom

"Yes?" I looked up

"I knew you weren't going to die just like that," I briefly recalled the moment I prepared to take on the entire imperial garrison.

"Had to try."


	2. Prologue Part 2

**AN: Alright, this chapter was a little shorter than I hoped but I just couldn't find a good place to end the chapter. I'll make up for that later. Now, I am accepting editors and beta-readers. Send me a PM and we'll work something out. I am accepting OC's, I may not be able to use them now. But I would like some to use as leaders of guilds and as characters for some of my side chapters I'm planning. My side chapters will be short chapters about events other than the main storyline. Some will be used as background to normal chapters, others might just be there for fun. Anyways, enjoy my new chapter**

I dropped to my knees from exhaustion as I made it to the top of the mountain. There were no guards on the border. I guess Skyrim isn't afraid of anything from Cyrodiil. Looking down reassured me that it was all worth it. It was truly a scene to die for with a breathtaking view. The pure white snow, the bright villages, and the mystical Nordic runes. I could hardly believe all of this was real and that it was right in front of me.

My energy returned as I was overcome with excitement running downwards as fast as I could. I was not able to suppress my smile as I ran. It's a good thing no one saw me grinning like an idiot. It wouldn't be the best first impression.

The first town I saw was Whiterun. To most nords, it was just another city. To me, it was paradise. A guard politely greeted me as I entered through the gates. I was not used to receiving any sort of respect. I was going to continue heading on my way until I heard the same guard call me.

"Hey, kinswoman! Wait up!"

I turned around and ran back towards him. I didn't care what he wanted. It had been years since my last real conversation.

"Yes, sir. What can I do for you?" I almost bowed

"Sir, HA," the guard laughed. "That's a new one. Anyways, you looked like you could use some money. The city guard has new positions due to an accident a while back. I know that's not the best way to advertise but, if you are interested, report to the barracks whenever you want."

I smiled and promised to be at the barracks. If I was going to get a job, I would need a name. I kept thinking as I walked down the street. _Mmm... Lydia. Yes, that sounds about right._ I remember that name from one of my mother's tales. One of the few things I can remember from before…

I quickly rose through the ranks of the city guard. I might as well as had been the only one who actually took training seriously. I always did my best when my comrades were tired, before the training even started. The position of city guard had always been about walking around the city. Sometimes, the city guard was sent to nearby areas of interest because someone heard strange sounds which, more often than not, was a travelling bard. Travelling bards. Man, I hate those guys.

* * *

I walked along calmly as I played with my dagger. Perhaps this wasn't the best time to be calm but when has panicking done anything good, it sure didn't work out well for the horse thief. Then I saw some dust falling from the ceiling.

_Mmm, that's not a good sign, _I thought… then the rest of the roof collapsed.

"We should get out of here before the building collapses on our heads!" Ralof shouted at me as he sped up his pace.

"How about we stay here instead," I said sarcastically. Upon opening the door, I saw two imperials. Ralof almost rushed in to fight but I stopped him in time. I signalled for him to stay there as I sneaked my way towards them.

"We must hurry," an imperial in heavy armour told the other.

"Let me get some pot-" I cut him off by covering his mouth and holding my dagger to his neck. His comrade pulled out his sword instantly but I did not flinch, I merely pushed my dagger far enough into his neck for blood to drip.

"Put down your weapon, and I'll put down mine!" I ordered the other imperial.

The imperial stared at me as I gave my offer.

"I don't negotiate with criminals," he said trying to be intimidating but that wasn't working out very well.

"Sometimes, you need to realise that you have no choice," I stated to him.

He looked at his comrade and back at me. My hostage was violently nodding his head. What a fool. The soldier listened to his comrade, slowly bent down, and placed his sword on the floor.

"Good. Now, was that so hard?" I asked.

Before anyone could react, I sliced the blade right through the imperial soldier's fragile neck nearly decapitating him. The soldier in front of me tried to reach for his sword, but I did not hesitate as I jabbed my blade through his skull.

"And this...is why I would rather this dagger than your friend's axe."

"You tricked them." Ralof said condescendingly

"I killed them, let's keep moving"

* * *

There were not too many potions in the room. Just a few health potions, stamina potions, and happiness potions (otherwise known as wine). Never was a fan of potions, but they should last long enough and get me out of any dangerous situations despite how the clanking of glass vials won't be much help. Something told me these imperials were not the last obstacles.

Ralof led the way as we walked down the steps.

"Troll's blood," he muttered as he stopped.

"What is it?"

"It's a torture chamber."

"Better not keep the torturers waiting, than."

Some stormcloaks were already engaged with the torturers so killing them was easy. The assistant was distracted and did not even see me as I approached from the back. The torturer did see me but that didn't help him one bit. I looked into one of the cages. There was a mage inside still in humble mage robes. Beside him were a spell tomb and some gold pieces. The imperials must have not bothered to remove them from his person. Spell tombs were useless to me but gold was never bad. I pulled out a small pin with a curved end that I kept on my ear. I felt around the inside of the lock with the pin until I found a moveable area offering only slight resistance. I pushed down on that area and turned. The lock opened with a small click. The mage had a scared look on his face. Before leaving the cage with the gold in my pocket, I bent down to close his eyes.

The rest of the way was easy. The path led into a large room with many imperial soldiers. However, half of them were standing in a pool of spilt oil. I tossed my dagger at a torch attached to the roof. Before anyone knew what happened, there were unrecognisable corpses scattered across the floor. It was a loss that the fire engulfed a long bow one of the imperials held. Would had come in handy considering I am unarmed again. The stormcloaks offered to stay behind and wait for any other allies that may come through this way. There was no reason to deny them.

My feet sloshed through the watery path. There were many skeletons in this place. I wonder how they got here. I was relieved when I saw an opening in the wall. Perhaps we had finally found our way out. A sound from above told me otherwise as I looked up to see a family of spiders making their way towards me.

_God damn it! I hate it when this happens! _Spiders were not really dangerous. One stab was enough to kill one. But the northern ones' poison can get annoying, and those eyes… those fucking eyes. I could almost feel my blood slowing down. After the spiders, Ralof stopped me.

"Wait," Ralof whispered to me.

"Yes, I can see that bear up ahead. What do you propose we do?"

"Well, we could try to sneak past it or, if you are feeling lucky," he removed his bow from his back and handed it to me, "you could try to take it out with an arrow."

I would normally choose to sneak past and not disturb any creatures that do not disturb me but I needed every advantage I can get. That pelt on the bear looked like it would come in handy. I took a bottle of wine from my belt and threw it over the bear. The bear woke to the sound and stood on its hind legs looking for the source of the sound. My arrow travelled fast and steady lodging itself into the bear's neck. With a dagger in hand, I approached the bear and began to detach its skin from the rest of its body.

"I never understood how people could do that with a straight face," Ralof commented behind me.

"Why not?"

* * *

Before long, Ralof and I were out of the cave and into Skyrim. Ralof pushed me face first into a nearby rock and bent down beside me. Another roar was heard as the dragon flew overhead.

"There he goes. Looks like he's gone for good this time."

I nodded but knew that I was going to see him again.

"It's probably best if we split up. Good luck. I don't think I would have made it without your help today."

"I'll tag along with you. Would be safer for us if some imperials came," I replied. I discarded my makeshift mask and breathed in the cool Skyrim air. I'm quite sure that the current month is either First Seed or Rain's Hand. Yet the white cloak over this Northern Province didn't show signs of melting.

It was a fair offer, and I don't know my way around Skyrim. He offered me to follow him to Riverwood. I remember him being called Ralof of Riverwood by the imperial at Helgen.

"Wait," Ralof told me. "These are three of the thirteen standing stones that dot Skyrim's landscape. These specific three are called the guardian stones, they should amplify your proficiencies in different areas depending on which one you choose.

standing stones should make me learn particular skills faster. There was the mage stone recognisable by the man in the robe. On the right was the warrior stone having a carved image of the man in heavy armour wielding an axe with both hands. To my left was the thief stone portraying a hooded man running with a dagger in one hand and a pouch in the other. Which one of these would be more helpful to me? And where was the stone that gave me greater resistance to the stupidity of others. Oh well, this one should do me justice. A strange light was emitted from the stone and shone into the heavens.

Turns out Ralof's sister, Gerdur, ran a mill in Riverwood. Ralof sat on a tree stump and explained the events to the crowd. I stood behind and watched their reactions. Learning is much easier when one decides to listen instead of talk. Gerdur offered me items for helping Ralof but I refused. I am not the kind of person to accept rewards I did nothing to deserve. Being like that wouldn't have gotten me this far. Plus, it looks like she needs everything she has right now. The mill doesn't look like it's doing too well. She told me to inform the jarl of Whiterun about the dragon situation. It was a reasonable thing to do, but more guards in Riverwood just meant more food for the dragon. How can mere men bring down a dragon? Then again, I am not the one to make decisions for others and I do suppose that in a world with dragons anything is possible. If Gerdur will feel safe with guards in Riverwood, I will not deny her. Perhaps slaughtering the guards will take enough time for the rest of the village to evacuate. I was about to leave for Whiterun until I heard an argument coming from the trader's. I pushed my ear against the door.

"Well, one of us has to do something!" said a female voice.

"We are done talking about this," replied a male voice.

"Well, what are you going to do then, huh? Let's hear it!"

"I said no! No adventures, no theatrics, no thief-chasing!"

The speech was ended by a fist slammed onto the table. It looks like they had some sort of break-in considering the talk of thieves. Whiterun can wait. I pushed the door open and walked in pretending I didn't hear anything.

"Did something… happen in here?" I asked the man behind the counter.

"Yes, we did have a bit of a... break-in. But we still have plenty to sell. Robbers were only after one thing. An ornament, solid gold, in the shape of a dragon's claw," he replied.

"Where did they go?"

"Bleak Falls Barrow."

"I'll get it back for you."

"I have some coin coming in from my last shipment. It's yours if you can bring it back."

"I'll be back soon enough."

I was about to leave when another argument broke out between them.

"So this is your plan, Lucan?"

"Yes, so now you don't have to go do you?"

"Oh really? Well, I think your new helper here needs a guide. "

"Wh-no … I … Oh, by the Eight, fine. But only to the edge of town!" He said eight instead of nine again. I heard about the outlaw of Talos in imperial provinces but I didn't think Skyrim would be so accepting of it. The war doesn't seem like a surprise anymore.

And so I followed Camilla to the edge of town where she stopped and pointed at a faraway ruin. Bleak Falls Barrow. Ralof mentioned it when we were walking to Riverwood.

"That's quite a brother you have."

"Yep, still treating me like a child. Maybe one day I'll move out, start my own shop somewhere else. Live my life without limits."

"I know what you mean. Maybe I'll bring you with me next time."

Camilla thought about that for a while. She turned to me again.

"I'd like that." she said. And, just like that, she was gone. Making friends with the citizens already, I suppose I'll be alright in Skyrim. Then a wolf jumped at me.


	3. Bandits

**AN: Hey, what's up gg. This chapter was uploaded 2 days later than I planned but my internet stopped working for a few days. Anyways, I am still accepting OC's of every kind in case anyone's asking. Send me a PM if you have questions and suggestions and the like instead of a review. I read all reviews but it's easier to know when I've got a PM. Well, enjoy the first official chapter of the most retarded elder scrolls fanfiction in the world. **

_Skyrim sure is cold, _I thought to myself as I realised it was snowing in the middle of what should be spring.

That was the only thing in my mind as I reached the ruins. The ruins were old but they stood strong. I heard a sound from my right and ducked just in time as an arrow flew over me. That's when the bandits started coming. Three were running at me with swords and maces, two staying away with bows and arrows. One was faster than the others and got to me first. He clumsily swung his mace. I grabbed his wrist and pushed my knee into his crotch. He dropped his mace but before it hit the ground, I took it into my hands and crushed his neck below it. The other two bandits came at me the same time. I sidestepped to the right dodging the sword coming at me from above. I felt wind on my back and jumped out of the way resulting in the arrow planting itself inside the bandit instead of me. The last bandit jabbed his sword in my direction. When he tried to retract it after he missed I crouched and kicked his ankle. Before he even made it to the ground, his own sword was lodged in his skull.

I began my walk towards the first archer. These were novice archers. It took almost a full ten seconds to ready the arrow. Only once in a while did the arrows actually fly in my direction. Even if they did, they would be so slow I hardly had to try to dodge them. The archer decided I was too close for her to use the bow. She pulled out her dagger and charged at me. These bandits sure were excited to die looking at their enthusiasm to run towards me. I allowed her the first strike like the gentleman I am. Her swing was just as bad as the others. Before she readied herself for the next swing, I swung my body around and kicked her temple. My kick had enough force for her to fall off of the ledge with the eternal winter below sealing her fate.

I bent down remembering the other archer and defensively crouched. I pulled two iron arrows back and aimed. Twice the arrows meant twice the accuracy, right? Right? Right. The first arrow missed completely and hit the floor two metres in front of me. The second arrow went closer to the target by landing two and a half metres in front of me instead.

_Well, I'm never going to try that ever again, _I thought as an arrow flew over my shoulder. I never was a good archer, but I suppose I'll have to learn if I would travel alone. I loaded another arrow. The archer did not even try to dodge as though he was expecting the same thing to happen. I took a gander at the entrance of the barrow as the bandit choked to death on his own blood. Chances were that the inside of Bleak Falls Barrow would prove more inconvenient than the outside.

The inside was not as attractive as the outside just like most women I've met. The walls were breaking and there was rock scattered around the floor along with some skeevers. Skeevers, the overgrown rats of Skyrim, I hate rats. But there was more to the interior environment. There was a fire on the other side of the room. Probably belonging to the bandits Lucan mentioned. I crouched down and moved towards it as silently as the stone floors allowed. I saw the bandits. They were having a conversation about someone named Arvel. It seems he was supposed to return but had not.

"He should have come back by now, I knew we shouldn't have trusted him," said a crude voice with a thick accent

"Do you suppose we should go look for him?" returned a gentler female voice

"Bah, you go if you want, I'm staying here. I haven't eaten for three days."

"I didn't either-"

"Well, you're going to starve for three more days if you don't shut up!"

"Sorry," the female muttered and turned away

A male bandit had a shield still attached to his person and was poking at a skeever which was being roasted over their fire. The female bandit, however, had only a bow. She was sitting with her legs closed and hands on her knees. She looked around like as though she was waiting for something to happen. The only reason is to that is because she doesn't like what she's doing right now. Mm, a bandit who doesn't want to be a bandit. I drew my bow looted from the corpses outside and readied an arrow. I closed one eye and aimed at the back of the man's neck. The arrow flew higher than aimed piercing through his fragile skull and killing him instantly. The other bandit drew her bow and began her search for me.

"Who's there?" she called

I stayed in the shadows and held my breath as she neared. She walked right past me more focused on how to look for me than actually looking for me. When she turned and faced away, I jumped up and pushed her into the ground.

"Now, maybe if you cooperate, I won't kill you."

"What do you want?" she asked with her voice beginning to crack. Another Nordic warrior might have refused to talk simply to keep their pride, but this one put her pride behind her life and was aware of the situation. I suppose we could get along.

"I am looking for a golden claw. Would you happen to have any idea where I can find it?" I spoke in a low whisper. My voice seems to have intimidated her, when in fact I just didn't want anything to hear us.

"Yes, Arvel the swift has it. He went in that way but hasn't come out."

"Alright," I said releasing her. "Thank you." I didn't look back as I went to look for Arvel.

"What about me?" she called after me. "What do I do?"

"I don't care," I replied. I was not sure if I should have been surprised when she decided to follow me.

She was quiet as we walked. That's good. Answering questions is not one of my favourite things to do.

The temple was cold and smelled of dust. I wanted to hurry up and get the golden claw so I could breathe in the fresh air again. Something told me that this retrieval was not going to go the way I planned. The air got denser as we travelled further. The air no longer reeked of only dust. One could also feel an air of death. Down a small set of stairs was a room. Inside the room was a man, another bandit, whom held a torch in one hand and the end of a lever in the other.

"I wouldn't pull that if I were-" I tried to call out to him, but it was too late. He pulled the lever and his mistake made him fall to the ground filled with poisonous arrows.

"Never mind," I said to no one in particular.

"That was Bjorn. He was always too impulsive," my companion told me. "I'm Soling by the way."

"Lovely name for a lovely person," I lied twice in six words...must be a new record. "How do you think we open the door?"

"You see the three statues? They should have something to do with those pillars."

There were indeed three statues each representing a symbol. One had fallen from its original position, but it was not difficult to see where it once stood. The first two looked like a snake while the last appeared to be a whale that hadn't eaten in days. I spun the pillars so they looked the same as the statues.

"Wish me luck," I said as I pulled the lever. Instead of getting killed by a barrage of arrows, the door opened with a loud creak.

"Damn it. You're still alive," Soling commented. I just nodded. It was all right to have her around, she reminded me of how lively the world was and how much potential was contained in the people. Well, most of them.

I noticed more and more spider webs as we walked. That's never a good sign. I heard some shouting. That's not a good sign, either.

"Wait." Soling pulled on my arm. "That sounded like Arvel. We need to go."

Before waiting for my response she ran ahead. I followed. Not like there was any other direction I could have went in.

"Look at that," Soling pointed at a doorway covered in spider webs. I took out my dagger and sliced at the webs. After a few strikes, the doorway was clear.

"Soling!" Arvel shouted as he spotted us. "Get me down, quickly!"

"Where is the claw?"

"I have it. Just get me down," Arvel quickly replied.

"Not until you give me the claw."

"Does it look like I can move? Get me down and the claw is yours."

Soling realised that Arvel was right. She was about to cut the webs when I heard something from above. I quickly tackled Soling forward with the giant frostbite spider barely missing us. I turned around and tumbled under the spider. I stabbed at the heart of the spider with my dagger. The spider reacted the way I hoped; it stepped back. That gave me enough time pull out my bow. I fired three shots at its head each taking out an eye. The spider was weakened at this point. Actually, it seems to had been wounded before I engaged it. I ran towards it and leapt into the air as it spat poison at me. I jabbed the dagger into the spider combining the strength of my muscles and the force of gravity. It was enough to kill it.

"Good job," Soling commented. Soling went to cut down Arvel as promised. But, instead of handing over the claw, Arvel made a run for it.

"You fools! Why should I share the treasure with anyone?" called out Arvel as he ran off. Soling wanted to chase him, but I pulled her back.

"But he has the claw," Soling whined.

"Just wait," I replied. "5...4...3...2...1..." As if on cue, a loud crunch was heard followed by an 'Argh!'

"See," I said as I patted Soling's back, "patience is a virtue."

"How did you know that was going to happen?"

"I didn't, but we were going the same direction anyways, might as well as have him scout about first."

I walked with Soling to the sound's source. It turns out Arvel was killed by a trap. There was a pressure plate on the floor connected with a large spiked door. The rest of the room was just as dangerous. The walls were lined with corpses of the ancient nords. Soling held onto my arm.

"Yes?" I asked her.

"I'm scared," she replied quietly. Huh, not the best bandit I've ever seen. At least she's honest.

"Don't be," I pulled her closer. "It's not like these corpses are going to come alive."

That's when one of the corpses decided to wake up followed by many others.

"Well," I told Soling. "I guess anything is possible."

The first draugr charged at us with a sword and shield. The second followed with a greatsword.

"Unslaad Krosis," the first one said. His voice was cracked and muffled, but I could hear it clearly. He tried to push me back with his shield. Instead, I grabbed his shield and pulled it away from him. I grabbed his neck and kicked his groin like I did with the bandits.

_Oh, right. The undead don't have the weaknesses that people with flesh do. _That mistake came back to haunt me. His next sword strike made contact with my flesh cutting a shallow diagonal line across my chest.

"Well, that's not good."

I had dropped my dagger from parrying most of the attack. Luckily, I have six more attached to my back. I threw two at the first draugr, one handicapping his leg and the other handicapping his head. The next one raised his greatsword. Before he brought it down, I jumped back barely avoiding it. Before he raised it again, I used the sword as a stepping stone as I jumped from the sword into the air. I kicked his face hard enough to detach his head from the rest of his body. More draugrs were beginning to wake up. I realised that draugrs have no sense of strategy, only rage and duty. I pulled Soling along with me as I ran around the pressure plate. We stood there motionless as we watched the trap finish the rest of the draugrs.

"Try to stay dead this time," Soling said

The rest of the way contained many more draugrs. I didn't really mind them that much. They were stupid and easy to kill. But the look on Soling's face told me that we should hurry up. She looked like a traumatised child who just saw her parents slaughtered. Yes, I know exactly what that looks like…even though I've been trying to forget.

I tried to comfort Soling as much as I could. But everyone has their phobias. It just so happens that Soling's phobias are running around these runes we are currently in. Soling was so happy when we got to a long hallway which led to a puzzle door because she thought that was the exit. The puzzle was easy to solve. One simply needed to match the rings with the ones on the golden claw. Inside the door was a beautiful cavern. There was a small stream of water but what caught my attention most was a large stone wall. Beside it were shelves of plants, potions, and a coffin. The coffin was closed. I hoped for it to stay that way. I was attracted by the stone wall. It seemed to have words carved into it. It was the first time I had seen such a strange language, but it was so familiar.

"Any idea what that says?" Soling asked me pointing to the words.

"Het nok faal vahlok deinmaar do dovahgolz ahrk aan fus do unslaad rahgol ahrk vulom," I said. How did I know that? It seemed as though I instinctively said it like the wall said it through me.

"What does that mean?"

"No clue."

"Thanks,"

I stepped closer to the wall. The words had little meaning to me, but one word stood out.

_Fus_.

That word seemed to be calling to me. As I closed the distance between me and the wall, the words started to glow. I don't know if I'm the only one that saw the glow, or if Soling could also see it. I didn't bother to turn around to check. Strange hues of light blue and bright orange emanated from the words and into me. The rest of the world seemed to darken as though only that word and I existed. That's when I heard it.

_FUS._

It felt like my body became weightless as I fell to my knees, Soling not hesitating to run to me. She said something. I'm not sure what, but I realised something. That word managed to bury itself into me. I'm not sure why. I'm not sure how. But it is and that's that. It didn't seem to cause any physical changes, so I suppose I'm already with that.

"What was that?" Soling asked me.

"I don't know," I replied. "I think I learnt something."

"Whatever. Let's get out of here," she said helping me to my feet. "I don't want to see any more undead."

Almost as if the draugr heard her, he burst out of the coffin.

"Well, that didn't work out too well."

"I'm going to go here," said Soling as she proceeded to hide behind the word wall. I sighed.

I drew two daggers and jumped at the draugr. Instead of blocking with his sword, he shouted at me. It was not a normal shout. The shout disarmed me and sent me crashing into the wall. I was an alright warrior in Elsweyr, but I supposed I never practiced defending myself against loud noises.

"Are you all right?" Soling shouted from behind the wall.

"Does it sound like I'm all right?"

"Yes...?"

Well, I guess I'm on my own again. I lost two daggers from the shout, but I still had six more strapped to my chest. I started with fourteen daggers. I still need to pay Alvor for all the steel I used. I rarely used daggers in Elsweyr, but the swords in Skyrim are too heavy to be swords. I think I remember a few lessons I had on forging, maybe I'll try to get some metal and make a sword. The draugr bashed his sword against his shield as a taunt. Weird. Taunting is strategy. This draugr must be more capable than the other ones I've encountered so far. Well, that just makes it more of a challenge… I guess optimism isn't working.

He swung his sword downwards as I stepped closer. I turned around holding my dagger over my shoulder and parried. The parry was meant to stun him for just a little less than one second considering the raw weight of his sword. I followed up with the rest of the turn and lodged the same dagger into its of pulling it out, I left it there to save time. I pulled out two more daggers, one in each hand. I jabbed them into his skull from both sides.

"You can come out now!" I called out to Soling.

"I think I'm stuck," she called back.

"Not my fault."

In the coffin was a strange stone. It looked like a normal piece of rock, but there were engravings on it. I had no assumptions of what the engravings meant. However, everything that is hidden so secretively has significance.

"Finally. I get to see the sky." Soling's mood brightened immediately as we left the barrow.

"I don't want to go back there ever again," she added, "I don't want to go back to a barrow ever again, I don't want to see undead ever again, I don't want to be a bandit ever again."

"You don't have to," I said

"Huh," Soling turned, revealing a smirk, "and whose fault is that"


	4. Relics

The sky was dark. It must have been the almost sunrise. I guess that's what I get for going on an adventure in the early evening. I suggested we sleep where we were right now until the morning at least. I suppose lying down and falling asleep meant that she agreed. It's almost impossible for me to imagine that someone like her was a bandit. She doesn't seem like the type that infests old ruins and abandoned buildings. She was honest, humorous, and quite sensitive. She already revealed that she doesn't want to be a bandit. I suppose I have respect for her. I removed my own cape and covered her with it. Bear skin made good capes, mobile but still thick. The cape had a hood with a point in the front. The bear's head rested on the shoulders acting as protection and intimidation.

I awoke the next morning to find Soling shaking me.

"What' the matter?" I asked.

"I'm hungry."

You have to be kidding me.

"Let me see your chest," she ordered.

"Why?"

"Because it's covered in blood," she replied. I looked down. Sure enough, it was

"Fair enough," I said as I removed my shirt. Soling traced her finger along the cut, wiping away the blood.

"It looks fine," she commented. "But it might get infected if it doesn't close fast enough."

I thought that would be the end of that. But she stretched her hand and thousands of yellow magical particles flew from her hand towards my wound mending the ripped flesh. The rest of my scars remained but the cut left no traces. Okay, a bandit with a healing spell? Now, I need to ask.

"Tell me something, you're a cut away from the usual outlaws. You're really not bandit material. So, how does someone like you end up somewhere like here?"

"No, I never imagined I'd be living life as a criminal. What gave it away?"

"The fact that you know healing spells and that you didn't stab me in my sleep."

"I probably should have...now that I think about it."

"Yeah, probably. But you didn't. So, now you have to answer my question."

"Well, where I learned these healing powers is from my mother. My father was a soldier. My mother was a healer. Women made much better healers than men. Men are so careless and simply don't have the patience needed."

"Thanks,"

"Not you, you're fine,"

The end of this story probably isn't as happy as the beginning. Better let her finish though.

"My father's leg was cut off yet he survived with the magic of my mother. However, magic cannot cure pain. It can only mend a broken body. So, he consumed skooma in order to dull the pain during the healing process. He ended up dulling the pain until he died two years later. As you should already know skooma is expensive. We couldn't return the money fast enough legally...and had to get money another way. The law found out, and I soon had a bounty on my head. I had to leave. I-I couldn't return to my home."

I put my arm around her and pulled her closer. She was shaking a little but not crying. She faced her past and that was enough.

"We'll leave in a few minutes," I told her.

"Good," she replied. "I want to leave this place."

We made our way to Riverwood. The road was peaceful. Then again, after the adventure at Bleak Falls, everything seemed peaceful.

"Hey, you're back," Lucan called out to us. "And who's your girlfriend?"

"Not my girlfriend."

"Not yet," Soling said.

"Um, okay?" Well, better not drag on this conversation. I dropped the claw on the counter.

"Here, I got you your ke—I mean claw back."

"Ah ha ha! You actually found it! It seems smaller than I remember. Haha! Funny thing, right?"

"No, not really"

"Ah ha ha! Okay, then," he replied. Is he going to shut up anytime soon? "Here's the gold I promised you."

He handed me a pouch. I counted about twelve gold pieces at least. This means it was worth a hundred and twenty septims. I felt a touch that was obviously not Soling's. That means it belongs to…

"Hey, I see you've returned," Camilla, who would have guessed

"Get your hands off my boyfriend!" Soling shouted.

"Why are we going to Whiterun?" Soling whined. "Why couldn't we eat at the inn in Riverwood?"

"Because Gerdur might get pissed if she sees I haven't gone to Whiterun even after two days."

"What do you need to do at Whiterun?"

"Just need to get the jarl to assign some guards to Riverwood because of the dragons. Not much plans for after that. " Soling froze. I don't think I told her about the dragons yet.

"D-dragons?"

Nope, I didn't tell her yet.

"Yeah, there are dragons flying about in Skyrim now. Saw one at Helgen not long ago."

"What if we see a dragon?" She moved close enough so that we were touching. "What would we do then?"

"There are no dragons around and, unless we go looking for one which we are obviously not going to do, we're not in danger. I'm not a dragonslayer from the legends or anything. But, as long as I'm here… well, you know"

"You'll protect me, right?" she said in a hushed tone. "I know you will."

Soling quickly walked the rest of the way. I guess she was nervous about the dragons. I don't blame her. How can I? I would be more worried about her if she wasn't affected at all by the news. She pointed at a windmill in the distance. I guess we finally made it to Whiterun. I was worried when we approached the gates as the guards seemed on edge.

"Halt! The city is closed with the dragons about!"

"Well, that's why I came here."

"What?!"

"Yes, I was at Helgen. I come bearing news of the dragons."

"Well, fine!" He turned around and began opening the gate. "But I'll be keeping an eye on you." Then he turned around and went back to his post.

Whiterun made it seem like the many troubles outside were long gone. There were carefree children running around the streets and citizens happily conversing and trading. This seemed like a lovely place to settle down. Too bad it's not my turn to settle down yet. However, when there is peace, there is always a concealed conflict. A few redguards were talking to the guards about a redguard woman. I'll keep that in mind if I see a redguard woman.

Soling eagerly walked towards the centre of town. I don't blame her. After living the life of an outlaw, anyone would be excited to be in a carefree city. She caught a glimpse of an inn and walked in without waiting for me.

"So, a chicken, two steaks, two loaves of bread, a slice of goat cheese, and an apple pie. Would you like anything else?" Hulda asked Soling.

"Nope," Soling beamed turning to look at me. "You want anything?"

"No," I replied.

"That would be 80 septims, but you two look like travellers. I'll give you a discount for 70 if you recommend this place to people you meet."

"So, by a discount of 70, do you mean we get 70 off and pay 10?" I inquired.

"… No."

"Worth a shot," I replied with a smile as I dumped a mix of gold and silver on the counter.

"It's going to take some preparation. Why don't you two go take a seat by the fire."

We took our seats at a small table as Saadia desperately tried to jot down the excessively long order. With Soling's fur armour and cloak and my tattered leather jacket and common pants. We looked like a pair a bandits and were stopped at the gates. But I explained how we were sent by riverwood and made up a story about being abused by bandits and having to take their clothes because ours got ruined. They didn't believe we would have survived a bandit attack but after a quick duel we were in the city.

"I'm warm, comfortable and happy. I don't remember the last time this happened."

"When did you join those guys at Bleak?"

"Well," she sighed, "I actually found those guys right after I escaped my home. I only made it one day before I got scared of being alone. They ambushed me and wanted to take my belonging and… other things. But I was pretty good with a bow so they let me tag alone as long as I gave them everything I found."

"Well, they're not so bad. Other bandits wouldn't have taken your offer."

"They were only three people then, I guess they needed more members."

"They are just corpses now,"

"That, I am glad for."

"Hey," Soling said. "Do you ever get that feeling where your stomach hurts because you ate too much, although it was so delicious and it still feels kind of good?" I really wasn't expecting her to eat the entire order. I thought some was to go. Actually I thought most of it would be to go.

"No."

"You're no fun."

"You want to have fun?" I asked. "I'll show you fun." I then proceeded to push her into the pool of water at the bottom at the stairs.

"There we go," I said to Soling. "That was fun, wasn't it?" That's when she grabbed my neck and pulled me in.

Two people in light armour dripping with water. That must be exactly the kind of people the jarl of Whiterun would want to meet. The jarl proved me right by having his housecarl to greet us by pointing a sword at my face.

"What is the meaning of this? The jarl is not receiving visitors," the dunmer said, sword still pointed at my face. A dark elf is a housecarl in Skyrim. I was right, anything is possible.

"Just thought the jarl would like some information about dragons," I replied.

"And what do you know about dragons?" she asked slowly lowering her sword.

"Well, one of them almost killed me at Helgen. So, I guess I know a little bit."

"Well, you do look like you've been through oblivion" the housecarl said while sheathing her sword at last, "that explains why the guards let you in. Come on, then. I'm sure the jarl would want to talk to you personally."

She turned around and began walking expecting us to follow. The jarl seemed to be preoccupied with another conversation, however.

"My lord, please. You have to listen. I only counsel caution. We cannot afford to act rashly in times like these. If the news from Helgen is true…well, there's no telling what it means."

The man speaking wore higher class clothing and spoke in a high pitched voice. What he said showed that he was certainly not a nord and perhaps not a man.

"What would you have me do, then? Nothing?" The jarl spoke back with annoyance in his voice. The jarl's name was Balgruuf if I recall correctly. I don't know why he would make this man his counsellor. I have seen a rabbit give better advice.

"My lord, please. This is no time for rash action. I just think we need more information before we act. I just-"

"Well, who's this, then?" The jarl cut him off as he saw me. His housecarl told him about my involvement in the Helgen incident.

"So, you two were at Helgen?"

"No, just me," I replied.

"You saw this dragon with your own eyes?"

"Ah, yes. I had a great view of the dragon while the imperials were trying to cut off my head."

"Really? You're certainly…forthright about your criminal past."

"That's because I have none. I am just a man who was at the wrong place at the wrong time." I sighed, "just like everyone else in Helgen at that time"

"Well, it's none my concern who the imperials want to execute anyways especially with the dragons about. What I do want to know is what happened at Helgen."

"What is there to say? A dragon destroyed Helgen and just left. Riverwood could use some help. It is vulnerable and defenceless. If that dragon is still here, it will have no trouble wiping Riverwood from the map."

"My lord," Irileth called. "We should send troops to Riverwood at once it-"

"The jarl of Falkreath will view that as a provocation!" The steward cut her off and talked as though he had a point. "He'll assume we're preparing to join Ulfric's side and attack him. We should not-"

"ENOUGH!" jarl Balgruuf cut him off. "I will not stand idly by while a dragon burns my hold and slaughters my people."

I wonder who the jarl wants to kill more, the dragon or his steward.

"Well done, you sought me out on your own initiative. You've done Whiterun a service I won't forget. Here, take this as a small token of my esteem." He had a servant hand me a set of scaled armour. The top half was sleeveless with a steel shoulder pad on the left and a plate at the heart. The bottom half was long pieces of fur aligned delicately with rings and scales of steel. The armour was well made, but the steel and lack of mobility in the legs would prove useless to me.

"There is something else you could do for me. Perhaps it would be suitable for a man of your talents."

_God damn it._

"Farengar, my court wizard is doing research on dragons and…dragon rumours. He can be a bit difficult. You know how mages are. Farengar!" jarl Balgruuf called out to the mage. "I think I might have found someone who might be able to help you with your dragon project."

Soling was bouncing around Farengar's room picking up and touching random objects. I think I saw her shake a filled soul gem to see if she could hear what was inside. I bet she would have annoyed any other person to have killed someone by now. But she reminds me too much of my sister to react in any way.

"The jarl must be talking about my dragon project. Yes, I could use someone to fetch something for me," Farengar told me doing his best to avoid yelling at Soling.

"What's the catch?"

"Well, by fetch I mean dwell into an ancient Nordic ruin in search of a stone that looks pretty much the same as any other stone. Also, the stone might not actually be there. This whole search for it is just a guess on a presumed location."

"Sounds dangerous, I'm in. But, how would this tablet help you in your research of dragons?" I asked him. I have no problems with doing jobs for others, but I never take action without knowing what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. Doing that caused two divorces and one murder.

"Ah, you are not like the brutes the jarl pushes onto me. You are a thinker perhaps even a scholar. Anyways, if my information is correct, then this stone should be able to act as a map to find other dragon burial sites."

Wait. A stone tablet that acts as a map.

"You mean the dragonstone?" I asked as I pulled out the stone I'd retrieved from Bleak Falls Barrow out of my bag.


	5. Dragon

"Ah, you've already found it. You really are a cut above the usual mercenaries."

"Farengar!" the housecarl shouted. "We need you upstairs immediately…you too." She added turning to me.

"Hey," I told Soling. "Put this on." I handed her the armour the jarl gave me. It might not be suitable for me, but it's much better than the fur armour she bore.

"Why?" She asked me. "Why would you want me to cover up my body? Is it not good enough for you?"

"Well, your body… it's"

"It's what?" she asked with a smile

"It's okay I guess," she was mad at me for a while after that

A guard had come bearing news of a dragon attack on the western watchtower while I was busy doing my job, which was pretty much exclusively standing there and looking scary. He briefed the jarl on it. Jarl Balgruuf suggested I take the two newcomers with me, and the soldiers to defeat the dragon. They might have done a favour for the wizard, but I wonder if they will be more than a burden. Hmph, even if they were, at least now we have two more shields for the real warriors, or just me. These two looked like nothing more than children without any knowledge of the land they tread upon. Before I left to rendezvous with my soldiers, jarl Balgruuf asked me to promise him to not die. Of course I'm not going to die, I wouldn't allow myself to anytime soon. After all, I am the very essence of caution. I think.

The soldiers and two strangers were already at the watchtower waiting for me. Strangers, they're always trouble.

The guards were unenthusiastic about fighting a dragon to say the least. And they call themselves the fearless warrior. But it's okay, a few words from me and they're ready for anything. Telling them I'm going to stab them in their sleep is great motivation. The male stranger didn't seem excited or scared. His expression remained indifferent; it was the face of either a man who had seen everything or a man who have had kids. The female stranger was really angry at her friend for some reason.

The housecarl, Irileth I think her name was, seemed to be distrustful of me and my companion. I understand the job of a housecarl is to protect a person of significance. But I have noticed that perhaps she is too protective of jarl Balgruuf. I think this may be caused by more than just raw loyalty and sense of duty. Irileth and Balgruuf were… close, closer than professionally. I smiled at the fact that anything can happen in Skyrim.

"The dragon's not here now, but it definitely looks like he's been here." Soling said as she looked around the rubble.

"Yeah, no shit. Half the tower is gone," I replied causing her to punch me. I cringed as I felt something. A creature was nearing. I couldn't confirm what it was but it's probably the dragon which destroyed the tower.

"Come on," Soling said leaning closer. "I didn't hit you that hard."

"It's not that," I grabbed her hand. "Let's get to some cover."

"Why?"

"Trust me, it's coming" I lead her into the remains of the watchtower. I signalled for her to go in. I did not follow. I went and called all of the soldiers.

"Prepare yourselves," I called. "The dragon is coming."

"And how would you know-" Irileth was cut off by a roar overhead. "Nevermind."

The soldiers drew their bows and began a reckless assault on the dragon. Hundreds of arrows were fired, few made contact. The dragon was fast and the raw speed of its wings was enough to push away the arrows. While the guards attacked, I stood back and watched. Soon I found a pattern with the dragon's flight. Every three strokes of his wing, he would glide for a few seconds. I drew my bow and pulled back an arrow. Right after his third stroke my arrow flew. The arrow lodged itself in the area between the dragon's head and his neck. He hardly flinched, but I knew it did damage.

"Ah, dovahkiin," the dragon's croaky voice said as he noticed the injury looking my way. "Your death will bring me honour."

_Dovahkiin, _he definitely said that, I knew I heard him correctly. The only question is what dovahkiin means. He was addressing me, I think. Am I dovahkiin? Sounds better than my given name at least.

"Hey, what's going on out he—OH HOLY FUCKING MOTHER OF THE FUCKING DIVINES!"

I turned to where the voice came from and noticed Soling come out of the tower and go right back in. Well, I've never heard those words together in a sentence together. Speaking of worrying, something feels hot on… oh god damn it. That's when a ball fire came crashing to my face. I tumbled forward to avoid the direct hit but the fireball exploded on impact when it hit the ground.

"Does anyone have any water?" I called. "I appear to be on fire."

**Irileth POV**

The dragon landed for the first time since its arrival. The earth shook beneath him knocking many off of their feet. Some retreated further away. I ran straight up to the dragon's backside and jabbed my sword into his leg. It got stuck there and didn't seem to do too much damage. The glory of being the first to kill a dragon was too great to resist. All I could think of was the fame I would receive after returning to Whiterun with a dragon's remains. My dream prevented me from noticing the dragon's tail slam down towards me. I jumped to the side as quickly as possible. Fortunately, the tail missed my head. Unfortunately, that was the only part of my body it missed.

I lay on the ground gasping for air as my lungs struggled to breathe through the broken ribs. The dragon turned around ready to finish me off. I realised something I've never thought of before this moment. I don't want to die. Not yet. Not like this. But, then again, I have no choice. Good thing someone else did. The dragon opened its mouth ready to bite me into pieces. However, instead of me entering its mouth, a flying dagger did instead. The dragon gagged trying to remove the blade from its throat. I felt a pair of arms swiftly scoop me up.

"Ah, that looks like it hurts," said the jarl's mercenary in his strange acccent "Let me help you with that."

He stuck one of his hands into the dragon's mouth and pulled out a bloody dagger. I looked at him in disbelief why he would do anything to help the dragon. But, right when the dragon's jaw closed, he stabbed the same dagger into the dragon's eye.

"Well, he didn't see that coming. In fact, he probably won't be seeing anything anymore. Get it?" I used the last of my strength to raise my hand and hit him.

"Sorry," he replied as he carried me towards some debris. Crouching down, he leaned me against a piece of the wall and handed me a sweet roll from seemingly out of nowhere.

"Ah, okay," he said as he hopped up. "Where were we?"

Current events have taught that residents of Skyrim are stupid. The elves are stupid, the nords are stupid, and even the damn dragons are stupid. Everything here is fucking stupid. I mean really, Irileth got distracted in face-to-face combat with a dragon. How is that even possible? No matter, the dragon still had one eye left, better fix that.

"You will die here, dovahkiin!" the dragon roared at me.

"You haven't been doing a very good job of killing me yet," I called back. The dragon shot a fireball in response wiping out a quarter of the city guards. Well, perhaps I shouldn't have said that after all. The dragon flew in a circle before closing his wings and diving downwards at me with the assistance of gravity. Either this was going to go very well or very wrong. With the dragon only a few centimetres above the ground, I wondered if my assumption was correctly calculated. The dragon flew towards me with his mouth open.

_So this is what looking into the belly of the beast is like. Not the most calming image. _Before the dragon made contact with me, I leaned backwards and held out my blade. The blade cut through the scales and made a gash in his stomach.

"You know," I said to the dragon. "I'm not even trying at this point." Another sphere of flame was sent towards me. I tumbled forward using the strength of the roll to fling another dagger at the dragon. It missed him completely but diverted his attention. The bow threatened to snap as I pulled my arrow back. The arrow left a trail of feather bits as it flew into the dragon's neck. He landed in front of me causing a gust of wind to fly at me. I did not allow the current to hinder me and stood there face to face with the dragon.

"You have caused me great humiliation, dovahkiin." I adjusted my stance.

"And now I'm about to cause you death, too."

He smiled, or I think he smiled. I can't tell. Alligators don't have well pronounced facial expressions.

"You mortals entertain me so."

I pulled out my second last knife and stabbed his nose and again and again and again and-

The rest of the city guards found their balls and joined with me to fight the dragon, well perhaps I cannot say that for the female guards but it was a figure of speech. The dragon spread its wings to fly away, but one of the guards slashed his wing with a greatsword. The sword impaled its wing, holding the dragon's wing to the ground.

"Hey! That's not a bad idea. I should have thought of that!"

"Stop stalling and do something," the guard cried.

"Oh, right. Hmm, what can I do? Ah, I got it!"

I climbed the dragon's side and hopped onto its head pulling out my last dagger. I always save the best for last so it can be used to its full potential. The dagger was crafted by Alvor but improved by me, its shaft mostly steel with the edges teethed, designed to not only cut but tear anything it strikes. With one hand on his horn and the other on the hilt of my weapon, I made shallow and quick jabs at the edges of the weaker scales. The dragon roared and shook his head, but soon, the scales were gone, and nothing was between me and his demise.

"There we go. That wasn't so hard. We lost like twenty men, but that wasn't so hard," I said to the soldiers. Something pulled at me. When I looked back, I saw a light leaving the dragon and coming into me.

"Well, that's new," I commented as the light surrounded me and my blood veins glowed orange. The dragon's flesh depleted and it was now no more than a skeleton. The light burned inside. I felt stronger, smarter and faster. Centuries of experience flowed through my veins as the dragon's mind and soul merged with mine. I felt like a part of me that had been missing for so long returned. A sphere of raw energy escaped from my lips.

"Fus!" I shouted. Well, that's even more new.

"By the gods! You're the dragonborn!" One of the guards exclaimed. The guards called me dragonborn. The dragon called me dovahkiin. They sound similar now that I think about it. That means—oh, shit! Irileth!

"Irileth, are you okay?" I poked at her shoulder.

"Ow," she grumbled. "Where's the dragon?"

"Dead," I responded.

"Does that mean I die a hero's death?"

"No," I replied. "You're not going to die yet. Where the fuck is Soling?"

"She said she would try to help me…"

"And then?"

"She took a look at my wound and ran off screaming." I peeled Irileths' armour off causing her to wince.

"Well," I said. "I can see why."

"Not helping."

"Sorry." I pulled her arm over my shoulder and slid my arms under her. Slowly, I rose from my crouching position with her in my arms.

"Ow! Fuck! Be gentle!"

"I'm trying." I walked slowly, careful not to tread on uneven ground and cause more discomfort. Irileth was quiet, leaning and gently breathing into my chest.

"Hey," she said to me. Her voice was soft and quiet. "You think I'm going to be okay?"

"Of course," I replied. "You have to be. If the guards can survive that, than so can you" I left out the casualties from what I just said.

"What if..." she said again. "What if I don't make it?"

"You can't die," I said trying to put a stop to her doubts. "You have some stuff to do, yes? Someone to talk to."

"How do you figure that?" she asks, having understood my innuendo

"Well, I pay attention to things,"

"Stop paying attention to my things,"

"Hey, you need?" a guard asks

"I don't think so, why don't you help that guy there instead?" I say, gesturing to a guard on the ground whose ass was still on fire,"

"He's kind of fat,"


	6. Servitude

**Author's Note: Now like always, I am accepting OC's of any kind. Send one to me and I'll find a place in the story. But if the OC is a character from Pokemon or something completely unrelated to Skyrim I am sure you will have no problem understanding why I may find difficulties in finding a place for him/her in the story. Anyways, I am having issues with writing as my time is taken up by various other factors. For example exams are coming up and I am running for student council. I apologise if I may update late like this time. But this one has more words compared to the last. **

Four men in dark grey robes sat around a square carved in the stone floor. The engraving began to glow a deep orange and strange symbols started to shine the same colour. The marks burned and warmed the cold air.

"It is time," one of the men said. The others nodded and, in perfect unison, lifted up their heads to face the sky.

"DOV-AH-KIIN!" they shouted.

A thunder could be heard from a fair distance away followed by an echoing sound of the word, 'dovahkiin'.

"Did you hear that?" Irileth asked.

"Yeah," I responded. "Sounds like it came from the mountains."

"Don't get distracted now."

"Sorry." The guards at the gate didn't say anything and pushed open the large doors to let me through. I caught a few stares from the passing townsfolk. None said anything, though. I didn't mind. A man carrying a dark elf, both clad in armour and weapons covered in blood from both allies and enemies. It must be quite a sight.

"Hey, Irileth?" I asked. "Where can I get you healed?"

"The temple beside the fucking tree!"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Does it fucking look like I'm okay, you little shit!? You better hurry your stupid ass up before I fucking stab you, you dick! Ow. My shoulder hurts."

Okay. I better hurry up, then.

The guards closed the doors behind me as I entered the palace. Dragonsreach, they called it. Originally, it was a cage for a dragon, now a palace for a jarl. I felt two hands on my shoulders which pushed me into the door.

"Where is Irileth?"

"Calm down," I lift his hands off me, "She's at the temple."

"Will she be all right?"

"Yes, she will be."

"Good, good. Now, tell me what happened with the dragon." I walked with him back to his throne. I told him about the victory and the random soul-stealing thing.

"You must be who the greybeards were calling."

"I heard some random shouting on my way back." I replied trying to sound ignorant of the situation.

"Yes, that's the greybeards. You have done a great service to Whiterun and her people. I name you, the thane of Whiterun. It is the least I can do. Come back again tomorrow. I will have prepared for you a personal housecarl and a gift of gratitude."

"Speaking of housecarls," I replied. This was a great opportunity to add something else to the conversation. "You should try to be there when Irileth wakes up. "

"What?"

"Say, you have children, but I've never seen your wife."

"I've never had one, my children are the children of whiterun." That's quite a nice way of putting it

"Hmm, interesting, that's good."

"Why is that good?" Well, perhaps Whiterun having a few street urchins isn't exactly a good thing but still

"You'll figure it out." Before he responded, I turned around and walked away. A person does not truly understand something unless he finds out himself what it is. If you simply tell someone something, either they will either forget it or not believe it. I made my way to the same inn Soling and I went to earlier. I took a seat at the counter and dug around my pocket.

"Hulda, what can I get for five bronze pieces?"

"Two bottles of mead," she replied with her thick Nordic accent.

I tossed the said amount of coins on the counter. She picked them to check the prints and make sure they are real. I'd don't see how that would help, getting a mold isn't too hard.

"Pass me them." She tossed me two bottles of Nordic mead. One of them I caught. The other flew over my head and into the fireplace.

"Oops," she said. "Wait. Weren't you one of the guys who went to fight the dragon?"

"No. That's not me," I lied.

"No, I definitely saw you leave this morning with the guards and the elf."

"Sorry, must have been someone else."

"Mm, alright then." That was when the door got kicked open and a group of muscular and familiar nords barged in.

"WE KILLED A DRAGON!" One of them shouted into the inn. What wonderful luck I have. Maybe if I kept my head down they won't notice.

"HEY, IT'S THE DRAGONBORN!"

Or perhaps that wouldn't help my situation too much

"HI, DRAGONBORN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" One of the men screamed, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Can you not scream?"

"NO! YOU LEFT US AND WE HAD TO CLEAN UP THE REMAINS OF THE DRAGON BY OURSELVES!" They probably took what they can and sold it off somewhere.

"I was busy cleaning up the remains of Irileth," I flatly said soon followed by their silence. Such blissful silence.

"Woah. Irileth's dead?" One of the guards asked.

"No, I just needed this guy to shut up. But Irileth did seem to randomly forget what she was doing during the fight, which is something to worry about."

Around fifty bottles of mead later, five men were off in the corner singing Ragnar the Red. Two women were having kinky lesbian sex in one of the rooms, I didn't plan on looking in but I didn't plan on the door being open either. Two men and one woman were passed out on the floor. Mikael was also passed out. Not because of alcohol but because someone hit him with his own lute, I suppose it was his fault for singing about how sexy a woman was while her husband was standing beside him. And I'm just sitting here eating a slice of cheese. No, I have no idea where it came from.

"Hi," Soling beamed as she sat on my lap.

"Where did you come from?"

"I was here the whole time, silly!"

"So you came here instead of healing Irileth?"

"The blood was really scary!"

"And her dying was less scary?"

"Just don't talk about that."

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry." I wrapped an arm around her waist so she doesn't fall off. I thought she was going to return the gesture. Instead, she slapped me across the face.

"Ow?"

"That was for lying to me. You said we wouldn't fight any dragons."

"Technically we didn't fight any dragons. I fought a dragon, you didn't. But I guess that was still my fault—Ow! What was that for?!"

"You also said you weren't a legendary dragonslayer."

"You can't blame me for that. But I guess that's my fault, too."

* * *

I ran the rag up and down my steel sword. It had become a daily routine, cleaning my sword even if I don't use it. I placed the sword on the stand as though it could break any moment. There was a knock on the door, but the door was opened before I could answer.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you, commander Lydia."

The jarl. I didn't hear he was coming.

"My jarl." I quickly dropped to one knee. "I'm sorry. I did not prepare for your arrival."

"Stand, child. It's not your fault. I gave no warnings."

I did as I was told and stood.

"What can i do for you, my jarl?" I asked him.

"Well, our hold has a new thane. You should know that every thane is assigned a housecarl. Many holds have housecarls trained and prepared to be given at any random moment. We do not."

"Would you like me to find someone suitable?"

"No, my child," he said. "You are suitable for the assignment."

"You are assigning me as his housecarl?"

I couldn't suppress the disappointment in my voice. I had finally escaped my life as a slave-servant to a pampered noble and now I am going to become one again? It's not like being in the guard was glorious but at least there are opportunities, may it be full-on bandit attacks or perhaps participation in the war.

"No, my child. Do not think this is a one-sided decision. It is purely optional. I will find someone else if you do not wish to take the position. But you shouldn't make a rash decision. My new thane is not just any thane. He is the dragonborn. The dragonborn will be doing many deeds that will protect the future of the world we live in, I want someone capable to help him." He pushed the door open meaning to take his departure. "I need to go to the temple. Think on it, my child."

The last thing I wanted to be was another servant. But the dragonborn, the only mortal capable of killing a dragon and destined to slay the harbinger of the end of time was an enticing offer. Mother had told me tales and stories about this man. Truly, I am given an opportunity to help save the world and finally become someone. Even if I am only one who helped, I will still be someone others will acknowledge. I untied the strap holding the yellow scarf to the chainmail. Of course, I accept this assignment.

* * *

My eyes began to adjust to the light of the room. The memory of the previous day flashed through my mind. Getting too distracted by the rewards of the assignments to do the assignments, how could I have been so stupid? Jarl Balgruuf would be disappointed. Tears threatened to show as I realised the cold truth. He would see how incompetent I was and he would never love me back.

"Irileth?" Balgruuf? Was he here with me? "Irileth, you're awake, how do you feel?"

"My jarl…" I mumbled as I tried to sit up, a strong hand stopped me from making any movements.

"No, you're strong, but you're still injured. Don't try to get up yet, rest for a while longer."

"My jarl," I said, my voice clearing up, "what are you doing here?"

"I can't leave you. I started regretting letting you fight the dragon alone the moment you left the room. I should have gone with you. I should have been there for you. If I was there… than this wouldn't have happened," One of his hands grasped mine and the other covered his face. His eyes sparked through his fingers, was he crying? Was he crying because of me? "Irileth, I'm so sorry. This is my entire fault. You don't have to forgive, you just need to be okay. As long as you're fine, I can live and die in peace."

"My jarl," I said, my eyes were big and my heart was pounding. I could hardly believe the words coming out of his mouth. "I don't blame you. It was my fault. I was distracted. I thought if I could kill the dragon, you would love me more." Only truth at this point

"Oh my dear Irileth," he said as he gently hugged me on my bed, "I can't possibly love you anymore than I already love you."

"Do you mean that?"

"Of course I do, here, let me prove it," I closed my eyes as he began to move his lips closer to mine.

I don't remember if I've kissed anyone before. Even if I had it would be nothing compared to this. It felt amazing, it felt like years of working and waiting was over and I finally got my reward. It seems he felt the same.

I woke up to Soling's hair blocking my air inhalation. When my eyes opened, I realised she and I were cuddling together on a bed. Maybe if I moved quietly, she won't notice me leave.

"Mmm, don't leave," she mumbled grabbing my arm. "It's too cold here without you. Warm me up with your love, dragonborn!"

"How can you possibly still be drunk from last night?"

This question led her to laughing psychotically before pulling me back in bed. I guess I'm sleeping in today. I heard a groan and some creaking from across the room. A woman got off the bed. Correction, a woman got off another woman. She scratched her head and studied the room and froze when she saw me.

"Oh, fuck! Did you see anything!?"

"I saw nothing," I lied. Memories of their body fluids making puddles on the ground were still fresh in my mind.

"That's good," she yawned. "I better get home before my wife gets worried."

They call Skyrim the land of the warriors. If I become king, I will call Skyrim the land of the lesbians and terrible bards.

The sun was shining, the clouds were floating, and Heimskr was screaming. What a beautiful day. I moved my hand towards my forehead to wipe off the trickle of blood coming from the fresh cut.

"Look, Soling. I know you wanted to wake me up, but you didn't have to hit me that hard," I said.

"I told you I was sorry already. Just drop it."

"Wait," I said "I didn't hear you say you were sorry."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes."

She sighed before she began. "I apologise for hitting you in the face with a food platter," she said. "Will you forgive me now?"

"Ah, but I've already forgiven you." I put my arm over her shoulder. "I just wanted to make sure you wanted me to."

"I hate you."

"And, yet, you get upset every time another woman talks to me."

"I don't do that."

I raised an eyebrow. "Let's see. I can list a few right now. There was Camilla, Ysolda, that redguard woman from the tavern, and-"

"Okay, fine! I do that!" she cut me off. "But I still hate you."

Soling and I walked up the stairs towards Dragon's Reach. This time the guards each greeted us with a wave or a nod instead of closing the distance between their hand and their weapons. The guards at the door held the doors open for us to enter. I noticed the jarl looked rather tired today as though he didn't get enough sleep last night. Good. Maybe he took my advice.

"Good morning, jarl."

"My thane, ha ha ha! How are you today?" He stood up from his throne with a smile on his face.

"I take it you're in a good mood. Did something happen last night?"

He smiled in response

"You kissed Irileth? What did you do? Molest her in her sleep?"

"I considered it, but I thought I would molest her when she wakes up instead."

"CAN YOU TWO NOT TALK ABOUT MOLESTING PEOPLE!?" Soling shouted, mostly at me.

"Sorry," we say in unison.

"Did the jarl and thane just listen to an order from a commoner?" said a random guard

"It's because she's not a commoner she's Soling the bandit healer girl," I quickly reply. "Anyways, Balgruuf, you told me to come?"

"Yes, I have something for you." He went and reached behind his throne pulling out a sword and a leather bag. "Steel and gold. What else could a nord want?"

"Women?" I suggested to which Soling elbowed me.

The jarl just laughed

"Speaking of women," Balgruuf said. "I have assigned you a housecarl. She's a hardy and strong woman. She's already commander of the-"

"You assigned him a female housecarl?" Soling said in disbelief staring at the jarl. I pretended not to notice as the jarl started sweating.

"Well, she's very serious. I'm sure nothing will happen between them."

"Dragonborn…" she said sweetly. Too sweetly.

"Yes?" I replied

"Don't you dare!" She grabbed my collar, yanked on it, and pushed me back.

"Oh, come on! It's not like you're going to be missing."

"..."

"Riiight?"

"Well…"

I got the feeling that she was having second thoughts about me.

"Are you serious? You don't want to be with me, and you don't want me to be with anyone else. Do you want me to die alone while you go off and forget about me?" I honestly did not mind her leaving but really?

"It's just that, first there were draugrs, and now there's dragons," Soling reasoned. "It's just not my thing. Plus, I want to be on the other side of the law now. I'll go back to Kynesgrove. Do my time in prison and make up for my crimes."

"Well, I'm not going to stop you," I sighed. "But I think you already made up for anything you've done. What's the bounty...I'll pay it."

"Mm," she put a hand to her chin in thought. "Should be around a thousand and three hundred."

"How much did you steal?" the jarl asked her.

"I stole what I needed to survive!" she shot back.

"I'm not even going to question you," I said as I looked through the pouch. "Here's a thousand five hundred."

"Mm, what's with the extra two hundred?"

"I promised I would take care of you, didn't I? Should be enough for until you find a job."

"Thank you! If you don't visit me, I will find and decapitate you without giving a single shit about whether you need to save the world or not. Anyways, BYE!"

"Well, she's an odd one," the jarl whispered to me

"Who's not?"

I stood in place beside a door the jarl assigned me to wait for the thane. The thane was having a conversation with the jarl and another woman. His armour was tattered and already pretty much useless. A small piece of cloth was around his neck like a scarf. He didn't look like the noble man of honour someone would expect the thane and dragonborn to look like. He looked more like an assassin or a thief with the light clothes and dark colours, he certainly did not look like a noble man. I started to doubt my decision of becoming this man's housecarl. A housecarl is named differently than a slave but, with the oath I swore, this man can treat me however he liked and make me do his bidding without complaints, he could order me into suicide battles, he could beat me for fun and he could use me for lustful purposes. What if he was worse than my slavers from times long ago? I wouldn't even be able to escape because it was by my will that I became his housecarl. I am a nord, and I will not back out on my oath. But, will I be able to withstand old revisited pains? No, no I won't, I know that.

"Hi."

I was disturbed from my thoughts by a feminine voice. When I looked up, I saw a woman with light hair and scaled armour. She had a sword attached to her waist and a leather bag hanging on her back. It seemed like my new thane had given her all of the gifts the jarl presented him.

"I'm Soling. Are you the thane's housecarl?" She beamed.

"Yes, that's me," I replied

"Wow! You're really pretty. Let me give you some advice." Her expression changed from happy to murderous in a moment. "He's mine! You got that?"

"Yes?" I squeaked. I'm not sure how, but I think her eyes changed colour

"Good." Her smile returned. "I'm glad we got that settled." She skipped away as though nothing had happened. But I think I may have been traumatised... again

"You look shaken up," another voice said. "Just met Soling?"

When I looked up I saw the thane. A shiver went through my body. I can't appear like this on the first meeting with my thane. I quickly dropped down on one knee like the jarl had advised me.

"My thane," I said with my face down. "It is an honour to serve you." When I looked up, I saw my thane at eye level. He was kneeling down in the same fashion.

"It's an honour for me, too," he said with a light smirk on his face

"Why are you bowing down to me?" I asked. I was too confused, forgetting to show respect in my voice. He didn't seem to mind.

"Why don't you ask that to yourself," he replied. "Come on, get up." He offered me a hand as he stood up. I took it. He acts so differently than I expected.

"I need to go to Riverwood," he said as we walked out the door. "Why don't you take the rest of the money the jarl gave me and find something fun to do in the meantime."

"I am sworn to protect you and all you possess, my thane," I bowed. "Let me accompany you on your travels."

"Don't worry about me. I'll only be gone for the rest of the day." He handed me a bag from the inside of what little armour he had. "Take this gold and spend your day doing whatever you please."

"I don't dare take this, my thane."

I don't know if he was trying to trick me into doing something wrong so he could punish me later. There were too many kinds of people for me to lower my guard.

"No, I'm serious." He forced his pouch into my hand. "It's not like I'm going to use it. Take it."

I was going to push it away, but he left me standing there in the marketplace.

"Remember to have some fun!" he called back in his quick departure. "You look too serious!"


	7. Deception

**So I have noticed that I haven't been getting new follows or favourites since 2 chapters back. I would like to encourage those to read and enjoy my story to rate and review my story and those who did not to give advice. Writing is fun and all but everything is more difficult when you are alone**

I was worried about this housecarl. I was very worried. She was trained and looked much more capable than Soling. However, she was less worried about her own well-being. She looked younger than Soling, but those eyes tell many stories. None of which I should try to bring up with her, least not yet. I need to find a way to ensure her safety. She swore an oath to protect me with her life, but I will not allow her to be in danger because of me. I welcome my death. But I suppose that would inconvenience others.

I tried to be kind to her. Get her to open up to me more. But she seems stubborn. Like many nords, duty seems to be all that matters to her. I do not plan on asking anything of her. I will treat her best I can and perhaps one day she will be happy. Maybe then, she will realise what she has to lose. The greybeards have called me so I shall answer. Tomorrow, I will leave for the seven thousand steps.

* * *

My thane is so weird, so very weird. I hold his coins in my hand with no idea how to use them. I just realised I have never wielded money before. Even with the payments given to me in being the commander of the guard, I spend it only on keeping my house and food I eat. But now I have extra money and nowhere do I need it. I don't trust my thane. He is kind to me but that's why I don't trust him. I have never met anyone who would treat their servant with such respect. Also, his accent is light and cracking. It wasn't an accent that any men and mer I've seen possessed.

"Hey, Commander," one of the guards said. "Not wearing your whiterun armour, this your day off?"

"No," I replied. "I'm not your commander anymore."

It still felt weird being called commander by someone twice as old as me. But, in Skyrim, it doesn't matter how old you are or which family you are from. What matters most is your abilities and how you exercise them. I can respect that way of thinking, though.

"What happened?" he inquired. "Found something better? Or did you find someone better? There used to be a guy who was one of the best archers we had until he met a travelling woman and moved back to Hammerfell with her and then he-"

"I'm a housecarl for the new thane."

"Well, where's your thane then?"

"He went to riverwood."

"Gee Lydia, How can you be so irresponsible, letting your charge go off while you stay and relax. Your life is now for the purpose of keeping him safe and that purpose only. Not for… standing in the middle of the market square?"

"He insisted he be on his own. I will respect his privacy."

What I thought conflicted with what I said. But I can't admit I was wrong. What if he tells my thane or my jarl.

With my thane gone, I did the only thing I could do. He gave me money, but I don't plan on using it. What if he gets upset with how I use the money? Maybe he gave me the money just so he could punish me for it later. That doesn't matter now. I will go out of the city for a walk and await his return.

I knew my thane had returned when I saw a small crowd gather around the gates saying words such as dragonslayer and dragonborn. He made his way through by saying all of the credit is due to Irileth and her men and by refused any drinks handed to him. I pushed through the crowd to kneel to him. But I tripped as I was dropping down. I would have fallen if he hadn't reacted and caught me. I was too ashamed to look at him. A thane picking up his housecarl is not something that would help the thane's reputation all that much. I thought he would be angry with me for acting so stupid when I am in his company. I knew many others who would have expressed the emotion. I braced myself in case he intended to hit me. But he just asked if I was all right.

"You must be tired from your travels, my thane," I said to him as I pulled him by his arm. "Come to my house with me. You can rest there."

"Are you sure you don't mind? I can live in the inn if you don't want to share a house with me."

"No, my thane, it is all right." I was surprised by his answer to say the least. Why would someone like him worry about me to the point he would give up living in a real house.

"Thank you for your kindness," he said. "Also, you can call me Ma'yisha instead of 'thane' as that latter name sounds quite unfriendly."

"I am a mere servant of yours. It is only mandatory for me to address you by your title."

He put his hand on my shoulder.

"I've never met anyone who was just a servant," he said in that same accent. "Remember that." He flicked my chin with a finger.

What he said felt foreign to me. But I felt like I wanted to rest on his shoulder. I wanted to lean on him, to depend on him. Perhaps it was because I don't remember how that felt like but I knew I couldn't so I kept walking him to my house.

My house turned out to be a complete mess. There was dirt on every surface and items were scattered around. Food was rotting on the shelves. Only then did I remember how long it had been since the last time I was home. It was at least several months as I spend most of my time at the barracks. The house was a gift for becoming commander, but I never did much with it other than pay for maintenance. I dropped on both of my knees this time. He tolerated everything I have done in the past but why would a thane forgive me for something so pathetic.

"I'm sorry for this, my thane. I beg for your forgiveness and accept any punishment."

"Lydia, please" He helped me up to my feet. "Stop taking everything so seriously! I'm not mad at you and I never will be, okay!? I will not punish you, and I never will! What is it going to take for me to convince you I'm not a bad person?"

"I never thought you were a bad person."

"Yet, you constantly expect me to wrong you. Never mind that now, though. Why don't you help me clean up the kitchen so I can cook dinner?"

"You want to cook dinner?"

"Least I could do for using your house. And I found this one soup recipe from a bandit I killed earlier. Well, I suppose there isn't much ginseng here in skyrim."

"There is no need, my thane. I am here only to serve. That's what I will do."

"I think I have told you this already. I do not see you as a servant. I see you as more so I will treat you as more."

His reply made sense, yet I could not understand it. He was far from what one would expect from… anyone I guess. It was like he had something against the way people normally did things.

"Lydia," he said. "Your name is Lydia, right? I think I overheard a guard call you that earlier. Anyways, while you were um preoccupied, I finished cleaning the kitchen. Can you help me buy some food from the market while I start the fire?"

He was finished? How is that possible? But, when I looked up, the kitchen was in even better shape than when I first bought the house. The dirt was gone and the garbage was picked up… and tossed out the window in a bag. He had placed everything in the kitchen in more organized locations. However, I don't think I would be able to find anything now. It's not like I ever was able to find anything anyways.

"Lydia? I'm sorry. Is there anything wrong?"

"NO!" I burst out a lot louder than I hoped. "I mean, no. I'll go now."

"Do you need more money?"

"No, I still have all of the gold you gave me earlier."

"I thought I told you to spend it on something nice for yourself."

"I didn't want to waste your money on someone like me."

"It's your money now, not like I needed it," he waved me off. "Come back soon. I'll bet you're hungry even if you didn't even buy food for yourself."

He was right. I was hungry. So I went but, instead of thinking of what I want to eat, I tried to pick out what the thane would like to eat. But I don't think I saw him eating meat before. This is going to be hard.

I gave him the venison and various vegetables I bought. He asked me if I wanted him to roast the meat or make stew. I told him to make what would be easier for him.

"Stew it is then," I was relieved by that. I always had a liking to stew, roasted meat seems so dry. As he poured the contents of the pot into a bowl, I realised it was only enough for one bowl. He gave me the stew and sat there on his chair. Where was his food?

"Aren't you going to eat?" I asked him.

"No, I'm good. I had something before I came back," he replied. "What, you're not hungry either?"

"How can I eat in my thane's presence if he has nothing to eat?"

He stood up and picked up a spoon. Silently, he walked over to me and scooped a spoonful of soup. Instead of putting it towards his mouth, he put it to mine.

"Like this," he said, his tone softening. I accepted the food. I was almost sure I blushed as the food entered my mouth. I felt pathetic. I was a housecarl, and my thane was spoon-feeding me. But the taste protected me from any negative emotions.

"What's with the face? It doesn't taste that bad does it?"

"No," I said. "It's delicious."

"Aw, how heartwarming."

His word sounded true but his tone didn't change much.

"Anyways," he said. "I'm off to bed and you should go, too."

"Thank you for your concern," I replied.

When I reached the upstairs, I realised he had taken the smaller bedroom. It was in a terrible state. I never even bothered to furnish it. The bedroom consisted of only a wooden bed with some hay on it and a piece of fur. He was already asleep with his head on his hands and didn't seem to mind it. I am a bad housecarl for letting him sleep there, but I would be a worse one if I awoke him. I lay on the larger bed with springs and layers of cloth and cotton. I fell asleep with guilt and anxiety in my heart.

* * *

The strange man led me to the house. I heard him talking to my mother while I hid in my room. My mother pushed me towards him reluctantly, tears in her eyes. She said I had to go with him. Father was not here and there was no other way. She promised the man would treat me well and would secure me a future as long as I worked for him around the house. I was so young and ignorant thus I believed her. I believed that there were good people who did things for others. The nine years I spent with her were secluded, and I met no one other than the small amount of people in my family. I hid my pain as I walked with the man. I understood my mother had no choice in the matter. It truly was the only way to keep both of us alive.

Before I even heard the slam of the door behind me, I was chained in a position I didn't know I was capable of being in beforehand.

"What are you doing?" I gasped through breathes. I was answered by a slap across the right side of my face. Tears and blood alike fell to the floor.

"You are my property now," said a stern voice. "You have no right to speak without my permission."

I didn't reply. I was too afraid of what would happen if I did. He removed a piece of iron from a fire I didn't even notice was there. It was an iron rod with a flat circular end. The end was in a strange shape, a symbol perhaps. It was red hot and gently exhausting grey smoke into the room. I knew what those were for but tried not to believe that it was meant for me.

"What is that for?" I asked weakly, the sight of the tool taking away my memory of the advice the man had given me. He took no hesitation to remind in the same way as before.


	8. Morning

**Yes, I suppose this chapter is a little late. Well, no one really reads this anyways, I can't say I'm surprised though. I never was good at writing, actually I was never good at anything. Anyways, I'll make sure the next chapter comes earlier, I had a lot on my mind these days between exams and that one part in watch dogs where- actually I'm not going to spoil anything but I will say it made me really sad for a week.**

* * *

He stood behind me and, with one swift movement, tore off the ragged clothes I was wearing. I knew I had no chance, but nevertheless I struggled against the chains. Nevertheless, the chains were so tight he didn't even notice my effort. The tool was pressed onto my skin right below the waist on my back. My skin melted and my flesh sizzled. My throat burned, but I wasn't sure if I screamed; I couldn't hear anything, I couldn't even think, there was just pain... a lot of pain.

"LYDIA!" The voice of my thane woke me from my nightmare. I looked over at him. He was shirtless and wearing nothing but the pants he wore inside his clothes. I looked up and down his person, there were too many scars to count. Some of them looked like they had pierced through his body. Yet he looked so comfortable. I wanted to grab him, to cry into his chest, and have him comfort me and keep me safe from those people, those monsters. I pushed down my desire and tears. I could still feel the pain from the iron and the betrayal. I quickly sat up and scooted away from my thane.

"I'm sorry," I quickly said, my voice shaky and cracking. "Did I wake you? Please go back to sleep. You need rest. You can do what you wished to do tomorrow." I wouldn't be able to stand having him continue to see me in this state. Just leave, leave me alone… please.

"You are in no condition to worry about my problems," he said sitting on the bed next to me. "Tell me what's wrong."

"It's just a dream, I swear," I said, my emotions threatening to show even more. "Don't be worried by such trivial matters. Please leave me be, my thane, I'll be fine." Please don't leave me like this

"I can see it in your eyes," he said. "Don't hurt yourself like this, Lydia. I can help you… let me help you."

That was too much. I was already at the edge. He gave me his permission. It was not my place and it will never be my place. I was breaking my oath and tradition. But I am weak. I threw myself onto him and buried my face into his chest. And I cried, my tears pouring onto his chest. He just held me there. He said and did nothing other than accept me. His embrace could not rid me of the pain but balanced it with comfort. I'm not sure how long it was until I was able to calm down, but when I did I sat up and faced away.

"I'm sorry for what I did. I must be anxious about having a new master," I said purely on reflex. "It won't happen ever again. I promise not to bother you anymore."

"Don't make that promise. This was good for both you and me. Tell me, do you feel better?"

"Yes," I said.

"That's what matters the most."

"Please go back to sleep. You need it."

"Alright, got it," he pat my shoulder "I'll go back to bed now. See you in the morning"

I turned to watch him walk away. I wanted to go and pull him back. I wanted him to stay with me and protect me from the nightmares. Instead, I just watched. He stopped at the door frame and turned around.

"Unless," he turned back to face me, "you want me to stay with you for the night."

"Please," I quickly curled up as that word escaped my lips. I shouldn't have said that. I should had told him I'm fine. He walked over slowly. I don't know if I wanted him to walk faster or to turn around. He went to the same position he was before and pulled me close. I moved into the same position as when I cried. I could still feel the dampness of my tears on his chest.

"I'm here now," he whispered into my year. "I will be here as long as you want me to be."

I was too tired to respond. I just fell asleep. This was so wrong, but it felt so right.

* * *

Lydia was asleep, but I was far from it. The dream she had worried me greatly. A nightmare no matter how bad should not be able to do this do a person. I thought over what happened. I immediately realised the importance of a minor detail. She told me that she was anxious about having a new master. She called me a master. Despite my constant offers to her calling me by my name, she still continued to call me thane. But never had she called me master. Not once. But this dream she had had changed that. I heard a man say that people cannot create new people in their dreams. My hand slid down her back unintentionally. Then I felt a scar. It wasn't a normal scar. It was a burn scar. I traced my fingers around the scar. It was such a weird shape and was definitely not natural. I heard her wince so I withdrew my hand. I did not examine the mark, but I had a suspicion where it had come from. I gently placed her head onto the pillow and left the house hoping that my suspicion was wrong. But… I knew better.

I woke up alone in a cold bed. I reached over to the other side hoping to feel my thane's touch. I felt nothing. I was relieved and disappointed at the same time. I darted from my bed to the ground quickly putting on my underclothes, deciding to put on my armour later. The door to the other room was closed. He must had retreated back to that room after comforting me.

"Comforting me." That thought still burned through my heart. The worst part wasn't that I needed his help, but that I accepted and that I loved it. I disgust myself sometimes.

I went down the stairs two steps at a time hurrying to make breakfast in an act of appreciation for everything he has done for me. Instead, he was sitting at one of the chairs at the table holding a bowl in one hand.

"Take a seat by the fire, I'm almost done breakfast." He said without looking my way

Perhaps I should have put on my armour after all. I felt my face heating up as I realised I was wearing nothing other than my underwear, wait that's what I wore last night, so does that mean I slept with my thane naked? I wanted to go back to put on clothes, but he asked me to sit by the fire so I did not delay obeying him. He handed me the bowl and a spoon and paused a little when he saw me, he pursed his lip and continued. The contents of the bowl were strange. It was soft and squishy but it looked like bread.

"What's this?"

"I don't know what it's called in your language. It was quite popular back in Elsweyr. It's basically a combination of ale and about half of Whiterun's sugar supply."

"You're from Elsweyr? That explains your strange name and accent." I realised the words that came out of my mouth all too late. I must had gotten too used to my thane. I put down the food before I began eating to apologise. He just smiled at me. As friendly as he seems, I think this may have been the first time I saw him smile.

"I know. I've had a lot of people mistake me for a cat when talking to me through a door. Anyway, what's the matter? Does the food smell bad? It tastes better than it smells...or maybe I put in the wrong ingredients again. Lydia what's the different between an ale and a mead?"

"No, no, it's not that." Why do I always find a way to insult my thane? "I'll continue eating now." I picked up the spoon and filled it with a bit of what my thane had cooked for me. It was sweet and had another strange taste. It was good despite the foreign taste.

"I was afraid it would taste horrible. I guess the giant's toe wasn't a bad idea, after all."

PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT

"Okay, that might have ended up a little less funny than I thought it would be. I take it these kinds of jokes aren't your repertoire?" He said wiping off some of my spit from his face

Oh gods. I just spit on my thane. How did I manage to offend my thane in less than two days more than I have offended Jarl Balgruuf in all these years?

"You look like your entire family was murdered . Calm down. I didn't put giant toes in it. Didn't come back without a head to haunt you either." He began cleaning bits and pieces off his face. How do I respond to that? I need to apologise without being straightforward.

"What are you going to eat?" I blurted. Good job, Lydia. You are a genius.

"I ate already," he responded.

"When did you wake up?"

"Few hours before sunrise," he said. That meant he hardly slept or didn't sleep at all after he came into my room.

"My thane, how can you sleep so little?" I asked, although it sounded more aggressive than I hoped. "You need your sleep to keep your health."

"What?"

"I said, 'my thane, you should-"

"Sorry can't understand you. I think you are using a word I'm not familiar with." After a few moments of thinking, I began talking again.

"Myshai, you need to get some sleep. Sleeping so little is not good for you."

"Ah there we go. That was… not really my name but a lot better than thane isn't it? I don't need that much sleep. I've been sleeping four hours a day for years."

I wondered if he was going to talk to me about what happened last night.

I wondered if I should talk to her about last night. There are memories best left forgotten, but a wound only hurts more when you hide it instead of treating it. Then again, how do I expect to mend an injury so severe? I carefully eyed her over, looking for a sign of emotion. Any emotion at this point. But her face never changed. Must be hiding everything from me like what a true housecarl should do. I do not consider myself one who would follow tradition. It seemed to me like tradition supressed people's potential and forged them into something entirely unlike themselves. I wonder if I were meant to become the person I was today. The events that shaped me were anything but expected but, then again, anything is possible.

"My thane," Lydia began. I raised an eyebrow at her

"I mean, Ma'yisha. You looked like you are troubled by something. Would you tell me so I can share your burden?"

"I can't trouble you with my own burdens if I let you suffer through your own. Lydia, will you-"

"I'm sorry, Ma'yisha, I cannot." This is going to be a problem further on

"I understand," I smiled again. Smiling was uncomfortable as it was not natural on my face. But it seemed to calm Lydia so I kept doing it. "I'll be right back. There are two cloaks I put in the shelf for the both of us. Why don't you pick one you like?"

I picked up the daggers and sword I left to dry in the sun. The blacksmith here was better than the one in Riverwood. I recreated some designs and she made the weapons quickly and flawlessly. Almost as though to disagree, the blade of a dagger fell out of the hilt as I attempted to pick it up. I signed as I stuck the other daggers into their respective positions on my undershirt. I kept my sword in my hand inside of on my shirt. The sword was usually kept outside for easier usage.

Lydia looked at my sword with a confused expression as I walked in.

"Problem?"

"No, my thane," she responded, bowing her head. "I was just curious, that's all."

"About what?" I raised an eyebrow. "If you have a question, I might be able to answer it."

"Your sword is curved. I've only seen curved swords from the redguards, but theirs are huge." An immature joke came to mind but I decided against saying it

"It's actually pretty effective, it's an akaviri design which was mixed was the old khajiit cleavers. Here you take a look." I tossed her the sword and sheath together. She pulled out the blade and ran her hand across it, cutting her hand in the process. I sighed and found some soft linen to wrap her hand.

"I should have probably warned you about that," I said as I finished the knot. "But at least you know how sharp it is now."

"Thank you, my thane," she said with a soft voice.

"Pardon?"

"Thank you, Ma'yisha. I'm sorry for relying on you so much." She bowed to which I responded with pulling her up.

"Lydia, we are friends now. If you can't accept that, then at least we are allies. We will help each other and be helped by each other. We will have no regrets in doing so."

"Thank you for your consideration towards me, my thane."

Damn. Didn't work

"Are we leaving now?" she asked me.

"If you want to,"

She picked up what little she planned to bring but I stopped her. She looked up at me in confusion.

"Clothing is a requirement for walking the city streets, is it not?"


	9. Ascension

**Well, this chapter took forever didn't it. At least only about 5 people read this so the delay didn't bother too many people. Anyways, next chapter, I'm going to add a few OC's because comedy is a big part of this story and I feel that it's kind of difficult to actually make jokes with only the vanilla characters. Anyways, I don't know if saying this is necessary but please review the story and PM me for any questions, because in the end that's what really helps me write the story. I'm also putting actually putting titles after each break to say who's POV it is. Let me know if this is a good idea or if it distracts you from the story.  
**

The Housecarl

I slammed my head onto the wall over and over again. Having a conversation with my thane (and anyone else) in nothing but my panties was highly inappropriate. Now that I think about it, I didn't wear a bra but my thane didn't even bother to look. Did he not think I was pretty enough? Wait, what? Why am I think about that?

He said he was going to Ivarstead to climb the seven thousand steps. He even asked me if I wanted to come with him. Silly thane. I have to go with him. Climbing the tallest mountain of Skyrim might prove to be difficult. I've never hiked any mountains before but, as a nord of Skyrim, I should still be resistant to the cold no matter where I lived. How much colder can a mountain be than the ground?

I caught a fur cloak being thrown on my way down the stairs. I doubt I would need it though. My thane was wearing a dark brown sleeveless shirt. No doubt he got that custom made looking at the tight fit and blade sheaths on it. About time Ysolda got some customers. She's been advertising her sewing for as long as I remember, I suppose trading household items with the caravans wasn't working out for her, I heard those cats always tried to cheat people anyways, oops, better not say that in front of my thane. He put another layer over it made of pure black and harder material. This one had longer sleeves and was wore with straps of clothes that wrapped around the forearm and connected to the hand, closing off the sleeves. Not the usual outfit in Skyrim, but then again my thane isn't a usual man.

"Ready to leave?" he asked me draping the second cloak over his shoulder. I soon realised that he was planning to leave like that.

"You're leaving like that? You don't have any armour on!"

"Yes," he seemed to search for my point, "I realise that. So do you want to leave now?" I felt embarrassed for pointing out something so bluntly obvious.

"If you don't have armour, you can have mine."

"No, leave yours on. You have nothing underneath."

"I could find some,"

"Yes, and so could I"

"Shall I buy some armour for you, my thane?"

"Well, no, I'm fine,"

"Please, my thane. Skyrim is filled with dangers. You need to be protected,"

"I'll be fine, just trust me. When has that ever gone wrong? Well, at least it's not going to this time." As a bad idea as that was, I decided to not push the matter further. He slung a bag of leftover food I bought last night over his shoulder.

"Let me carry that for you."

"I'm fine,"

"Let me carry your weapons."

"Why don't you let me carry yours instead?"

"No, my thane-"

"What?"

"No, Ma'yisha. I will carry my own items."

"Then, why do you want to carry mine?"

"I am sworn to carry your burdens," I replied. Or rather, recited. I was told to say that line many times during my short housecarl training.

_The previous night_

"_Irileth?" The room in the temple was still dark save the candle I was carrying. Niether Jarl Balgruuf or his housecarl was enthusiastic about me visiting her before the rise of the sun. However, they did agree that I need some training before being formally assigned as a housecarl._

"_Irileth?" I asked again, she was still snoring into the thick bedsheets the temple provided. A few bandages covered her forehead were still coated with blood._

"_Iri-"_

"_That's enough" she suddenly said_

_I stayed silent_

"_I would teach you more but I really want to get some sleep so I'll only teach you the most basic things you would need to know."_

_I nodded_

"_Step one… never wake your jarl up at this time,"_

"_I'm being assigned to a th-"_

"_SHUT UP!" _

_Flashback end_

"Then that means I am also sworn to carrying yours."

"But-"

"Lydia." He cupped his hand over mine

"I… I… I-"

"We are not sworn to each other for anything," both his hands were over mine now, "we are two friends who have a long road ahead of us. If we want to make it to the end, we will have to help and accept help with no regrets and no debts. Let's start with this," he took my shield and sword, I made no motion to stop him, "as preparation for the harsh path we must walk."

"Preparation," I muttered, "yes, of course,"

And that's how he ended up carrying the only two items i carried. I could feel the judgemental eyes of the guards on me, like as though I had forsaken my oath simply because he carried my shield. I reached out to grab my thane's arm. He held my items with his left hand but his right was still open. He would protect me. He wouldn't let anyone hurt me. I could fall into him and drape his arm over me, nothing would be able to hurt- What am I saying? I retracted my arm before making contact. I can't let this happen. I wiped my face with my hands hoping to wipe away the dependency I swore to destroy. No matter what he said, I am still his housecarl. I reached over again but this time to take back my shield.

* * *

The Thane

It's not like I was trying to change a nord into an elf. Well, then again, I was trying to divert her from her ways. Maybe I was trying to change a nord into an elf after all. Traditions, I hate that word. It has been used too much as an excuse for immoral activities. Of course, I have nothing against people following tradition. It's just that I didn't think it was right for people to hurt themselves because of it.

"My thane, I mean Ma'yisha, this is not the path to Ivarstead."

"It's not the path, but it's our path. If we went around the mountains, it would take more than a week. If we went over it we would get there in two days; one day to go up, one day to go down. Well, a few minutes if we fell but that wouldn't be very helpful." If I travelled alone it would be much faster. Maybe it would take more since it was already noon. I just realised how late in the day it is right now. I was up long before sunrise, but I made sure Lydia got enough sleep after her nightmare.

"We are going over the mountain?"

"I thought we could, it would be good practice for when we climb the seven thousand steps," I think I saw a smile on his face, "You're not scared of the mountain, are you?"

"No, I'm not,"

I smiled at her. "I was just teasing you. I know you're capable. Now, up the mountain we go. Put on your cloak."

* * *

The Housecarl

_How much colder can a mountain be than the ground?_ The answer to that question was not a pleasant one.

I felt my blood freezing even under the cloak my thane had gotten for me. How he looked perfectly fine was a mystery to me. My legs were so numb that I could hardly walk straight. My thane kept the same pace as he did when we were on the flat ground. I pulled the cloak tighter around me. I thought I would be able to brave any cold. But this blizzard and this climbing was a lot worse than anything I had experienced before. I felt a sudden weight on my shoulder and warmth. I looked up to see that my thane had fitted his own cloak over mine.

"My thane, what are you doing?" I shouted at him.

"What does it look like?" I attempted to remove the cloak but my fingers wouldn't even bend.

"It's too cold out here. You must keep your own cloak. Don't worry about me."

"I think it's quite obvious you need it more than I do," sad to say he was right

He put a hand around my waist and helped pull me up the rest of the way, it was the same distance as the one we already travelled but it seemed to go by much faster. When I moved my hand to meet his, it was like grabbing a shard of ice.

"You're frozen," I said to him in disbelief

"I'm fine," he smiled back. "Even better now that we're at the top." I lift my head to what he said. Through the white snow was a dark sky. Under that sky was the most beautiful province of Nirn.

"Wow," I muttered.

"Quite impressive. I envy you. You got to live here your whole life where I spent my years trekking through deserts and stabbing pickpockets." He thinks I lived here my whole life. At least I'm blending in with the usual folk.

"It's night, and I'm sure you're tired. Want to rest in the cave over there?" He pointed to an opening in the mountain. "Let's build a fire, cook something and hope it doesn't burn out in the night."

"Yes, my thane. Thank you, my thane."

"Don't thank me, find something to cover the entrance."

After blocking most of the entrance with rocks and the like and building a fire with some wood and animal fat, I sat down beside my thane and leaned on him a little for the extra body heat. He didn't seem to notice, he seemed to occupied with roasting now unrecognisable meat over the fire.

"Here," he handed the stick to me,

"Why don't you take this one, my thane?"

"I still got the next one,"

It was only after I finished my food that I realised how tired I was. My sight was a little blurry and I couldn't think straight. I tried to focus on the fire but my eyesight kept burring, I decided that I was indeed too tired and should get some sleep. My thoughts were fuzzy and my memory was pretty much gone. But I was sure that my thane's shoulder made a lovely pillow.

* * *

The Thane

The morning came quickly and I realised that I had a surprisingly good nights sleep despite being on an uneven stone ground on top of a mountain. In fact I felt quite warm for some reason. I rested my head on my hands, it was unbelievably comfortable, I could get used to this. I began wondering if the cloaks were really well made until I felt something shuffling on my person. I lift my head a little to find a sleeping Lydia curled up on top of me. The two cloaks were neatly laid over the both of us and keeping our body warmth inside. I laid my head back down, it really was comfortable.

* * *

The Eagle's Eye

"Up the mountain again, Klimmek?"

"Nah, I'm getting old and my legs aren't what they used to be. I'll go up there some other time."

"Understandable," the elf said. "Hey, who are those people?"

"Pilgrims?"

"Wow, Klimmek. You really are getting old"

* * *

The Housecarl

"Why did you offer to take Klimmek's supplies? You're a thane now. Peasants should be running errands for you."

"Really?" he asked with a light smirk on his face and a legitimate look of amusement. Him smiling at my suggestion made me nervous. "I was going up anyways, a little bag of some food wouldn't be much of a problem."

A few frost trolls and the revelation that carrying meat was a problem later, "that Klimmek said there would only be a few wolves."

"Yeah, he did, didn't he? I suppose we could stab him later"

The seven thousand steps were surprisingly warmer than the previous mountain even though this one is much taller. It must have been because there was no storm on this one. My thane still wouldn't take back his cloak, though. He really did look unaffected by the cold...how strange.

The trip up the tallest mountain of Skyrim took less than a day. I was disappointed by the outcome, though. I had expected a great palace of sorts to be on the tallest mountain in Skyrim. But it was just a temple. I expected a one hundred metre tall building made of pure gold. However, I suppose that this only makes sense. The greybeards were people who seek enlightenment and separation from worldly problems. They have no interest in designing their homes or any materialistic matters.

"I will wait out here for you, my thane," I bowed.

"No, you won't. You're not staying out here in the cold. You're either coming with me inside, or I'm taking you back to Ivarstead."

"The greybeards asked for the dragonborn. It wouldn't be proper if his servant came in with him." He put a hand and my shoulder and closed some distance. I could almost feel his warm breath through the frosted air.

"I don't have a servant, come on, let's go"

Once inside, a man named Argenir introduced himself to my thane. My thane was asked to shout at him, so he did. His shout echoed through the gigantic temple, the raw force pushing items to the side, but Argenir stood motionless in the centre of it.

"It seems you truly are the dragonborn," he said, unfazed from the shout. "Come, now."


	10. (Personal Update)

Hi all, recently I have broken my wrist and will soon be receiving surgery to screw a metal plate to my bones. Honestly, I'm scared as fuck. There's going to be a piece of metal inside my body for the rest of my life, to me, that means something. This is not your problem and you probably don't care. But you see, this means I will not be able to write a new chapter for quite some time. I'm writing this with one hand and it's already taking forever. I know I don't have a lot of followers and readers to my little piece here but I owe an apology to the ones I don't have.


	11. Unexpected Encounters

**Damn, I really do not like making OC's, I think having too many of them really ruin the fan aspect of fanfiction. But for me, one of the most important part of a story is the usage of comic relieves, or is it reliefs? And you have probably noticed my whole story is pretty much one big comic relief, so I added some characters. I am also sorry about the long delay between chapters, I know I hardly have any readers for this stories, but I don't want to disappoint anyone. My wrist is alright now if you would like to know, well I suppose it's not even close to working properly but I stopped being a little bitch about it. I'm still going to physio and have to miss about 2 weeks of school for that reason. By the way, does anyone here play league? If you do, PM me your username, we can play together.**

**Once again, I'm accepting OC's to add to my character. Most people's OCs for Skyrim are dragonborns but I can't really put those in but still, I gotta mention it. **

* * *

Meanwhile at Helgen (** represents khajiit tongue)

**Well, this is new.** the khajiit girl said as she trended through the ruined city. **ch, destruction follows brother like his shadow, I must be getting closer.**

**Sister, come, I found something** another voice said

Back at the throat of the world.

"Stay true the way of the voice, and you will return successful."

"I'll do what I can. Lydia, do you want to go with me?"

"It is my duty to protect you and all you own."

"So, that's a yes."

"Um"

"Well, that works me just fine. Let's go raid a dungeon full of draugr and some of the most fearsome monsters of skyrim." The words of my thane do not match with the tone of his voice. It's probably just an Elsweyrian thing.

The ruins were not what I had expected. It was just rocks mostly. Why do these adventures always disappoint me? I had expected so much of the ancient nords. Then again, the modern nords aren't too interesting, why would their ancestors be much better.

"Lydia, wait a second." We were standing right outside of the entrance of the ruins, I hope he didn't forget something on top of the mountain.

"Yes, my thane?"

"Do you hear that?" she looked around "something is coming." I did indeed hear the crunching of leaves and the pit pat of footprints on stone.

"I don't hear anything!"

"Wait," I pointed to my left, "it's coming from this direc-" I did not have time to finish my state as I was tackled by a ball of fur and over-excitement, a familiar combination.

Lydia drew her sword but realised we were in no danger

* * *

**Well, I suppose it's been a while. What are you doing all the way here?** I asked

**What can I say,** she hugged me. **We've missed you, brother. We need you back there.**

**What can I do that you two can't? I'm not going back, not now at least. It's not like you need me anyways.**

**But we do** she cried. **Don't leave us now. I miss my brother. Please come back.**

**Come on, it's not cute anymore.**

**Meh, it was worth a shot,** she said cleaning off the false tears. **Who's this, your girlfriend? Is this why you came to skyrim? Nordic girls? Come on, you can't pull stuff like this, what about all the girls back south. They are still waiting for you down there. I mean they sit there waiting for you to go back and then you are just up north building snowmen with the local girls. Who is she anyways, holy fuck that's some steel work right here. How much does someone need to pay to-** I have absolutely no clue what she is talking about but she continued nevertheless

**They?**

**Yes, they, you collected a number of 'fans'**

**Great**

**So, is this your girlfriend?**

**Speaking of which let's speak in a language she can understand.**

**Okay got it, ahem.** "Who's this, your prostitu-"

"OKAY!" I covered her mouth with my hand before she finished what she was going to say. "Maybe it's not such a great idea, after all."

"Mmph."

"Let's go talk to your brother."

"Mmmm."

* * *

"So, these are your siblings?" I asked. We were sitting on the ground in a circle.

"Yes. Siblings," my thane answered.

"I take it you've never met your real family, then?" Shouldn't have said that

"Mm, simple question but still hard to answer. Tell me something, what do you mean by real family?" I've never thought about this question. A family is a family, what else is there to it? But then again, how can I call a person who sold me as a slave, a family? Maybe she didn't know, but that doesn't make me feel better.

"You don't really know do you?" I turned to the right to see the source of the voice. "Before you've never thought about it because you thought you knew, but now that the question's been put in words, you are starting to doubt yourself." asked Ra'khashai.

"That's... true" I responded.

"Brother is pretty smart, but pranking him is still easy as it could be."

"Psh, speak for yourself, pranking you was never a challenge."

"Oh please, when have you ever done anything to me," she smirked as she lift up her tankard, sadly the happiness didn't last very long, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"I DID IT" her furry brother screamed

"FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK! GOD DAMN IT CAI I'M NEVER GOING TO BE CLEAN AGAIN!"

"You were never clean in the first place." I scooted closer to my thane as the sparks flew from the clashing of metals. Getting killed by friendly fire wasn't first on my to-do list.

"Aren't you going to stop them?" I asked.

"Should I try?"

"Mm, yeah, maybe you shouldn't"

"Nothing. Let's get in the ruin before one of us gets killed." A flying blade flew straight at my thane's face. I had no time to even shout at him. I stared at him helplessly as his death flew towards him. A clang was heard as I turned my head away. When I looked back, my thane had caught the blade with a tankard.

"Let's get in the ruin very quickly."

"Agreed," I replied.

* * *

My thane put an arm in front keeping me from moving further. He put a finger up to my lips telling me to be silent which I kissed unintentionally.

"Huh," he said, I looked away

I heard a croaked roar from in front. How is my thane able to just tell what is coming beyond my vision? I pulled out a sword and began to run towards the sound only to be stopped again.

"We would have a greater advantage if we waited here. We are both unaware of the enemy's location. We have the opportunity to use it to our advantage. Why not take it?"

"You are right, my thane… my thane?" Where did he go?

"Find a place to hide."

"Where are you?" I looked around, peering under tables and looking inside urns.

"Here's a funny thing. When you hide, the people you are hiding from never look up." When that last word slipped through my ear, I thrust my head upwards. My thane was there on the roof. Holding onto rocks and other loose ends with his legs and one hand, reaching his other hand towards me, he signalled me to grab his hand to go up with him. I took it and he pulled me up. With no other way for me to stay up there, he held me close to him.

"Did I ever tell you how cute you are?"

"Huh?" Great job Lydia. He compliments you and this is the first thing you say?

"You just purred. Are you sure you are not khajiit?" He gave a small chuckle at what he said.

"I purred?"

"Yep."

"I'm sorry for being rude."

"I give you a compliment and you apologise? When are you not going to apologise?"

"I'm sorry for annoying you."

"Seriously?"

"Oh. I apologised again. I'm sorry." I mentally slapped myself. I've been doing that a lot lately.

A creature walked into the room nearing our location. It looked like a man, a man that had been dead for centuries.

"Soling is afraid of these things."

"The lascivious psychopath?"

"Well, I wouldn't call her that." Go ahead Lydia, keep offending him and his friends every chance you get. "But I can see where you would get that." HE AGREED, SUCCESS, HE LIKES ME MORE THAN- wait what?

"What do we do now?"

"Well, take out your sword." I pulled out my sword steadily trying not to make a single sound. I realised I was not successful as clanking sounds filled the room.

Both draugrs turned up to look at me. My eyes widened. Oops, that wasn't supposed to happen. I tried to look at to my thane for support. But, when I turned my head, my thane wasn't there and my hands for holding on to the rocks instead of my thane.

"My thane?" I asked. I heard a sound from below. When I looked down the draugrs were dead.

"Wow, well done," I complimented,

"I slipped," my thane held his head

* * *

"An underground waterfall, who would have thought it existed?"

"It is quite beautiful, my thane."

"Who would have thought?" Ka'itria said. "My brother is a thane!" She put her arms around my thane's waist and squeezed tightly.

"Isn't it more surprising that my thane is the dragonborn?"

"No, I never thought my brother would be friends with the local government." She began jumping up and down, yet never letting go of my thane. "I would never have expected - ow, my hand." I don't know if someone who gets their hand scratched by a belt is fit for fighting. Reflexively, she thrust her finger into her mouth.

"Ow, sandpaper tongue. Here brother, you do it." Without waiting for a response, she removed her finger from her mouth and thrust it into my thane's. "There we go much better. Thank you, brother." She thanked him by putting a kiss on his head; sadly her accuracy isn't the best.

"You kissed my eye."

"Still a kiss,"

"When did you spill mead in your eye?" my thane asked.

"Ten minutes ago." I recalled when she was drinking from her bottle and Cai hit her hand.

"Let me make it better."

"Ow! You kissed my eye!" She laughed and placed my thane's arm around her shoulder. My thane seemed happy. His happiness enlightened me. He was happy with his family. Despite the fact that they were not blood-related, they were just as close if not closer than a true family.

"Lydia?" Ra'khashai whispered. I almost forgot he was there. "Here's something to think about Yisha's question, a family is not defined by blood. Family is not people who shares your blood, but people who shares your burdens and your happiness or sadness."

My mother had sold me away and my father had left. Only now do I realise I don't want them back. They didn't care about what happened to me. How can I call them my family? My duty is to serve my thane. My thane is nothing other than a superior for me to serve. Yet he has given me so much, in more ways than one. He has protected me, cared for me, and comforted me. Does he count as my family?

"So, is this the horn of wind something?"

"Firstly, his name is Windcaller. Secondly, this is a piece of paper."

"So, it's not the horn?"

"No, it's not."

"What is it, then? Ow! Why did you hit me?"

* * *

Delphine, of course. I thought you stood out from the crowd the moment I saw you. Now Delphine, since you are about to find out who I am, perhaps I should find out who you are.

"So, this is a nord village. I imagined the doors to be bigger," Ka'itria commented, touching everything she saw…including the people.

"Ka'itria, I think the nords hate us enough. Maybe you shouldn't provoke them more."

"Sure thing, Cai, you would know a lot about being hated by everyone, right?"

"That really hurt my feelings."

"So Lydia," my thane whispered in my ear. "Where can we ditch them?"

I pushed the door open to the small inn. It was empty save for the two people working there. Didn't surprise me as the sun was down and village was at peace. I had waited for night time on purpose. No one would hear a single word transferred between me and Delphine especially since my three companions already retired into a room earlier.

"Alright Delphine, you did pretty well. Now," I leaned closer to her, "what do you want with the dragonborn?"

"Hmph, you're the dragonborn?"

"Well, my answer to your question depends on your answer to mine."

"I'm taking that as a yes," she frowned probably from the lack of experience she had with people not telling her what she wanted to hear. "Come with me."

Not bad, not bad at all. Delphine had a secret basement in her inn. Filled with weapons and potions, many shelves were leaned against the walls. In the very heart of the room, a table stood, a map nailed to the centre surrounds by flags and quills used for marking it. A battle horn was placed at the edge facing the door, I picked it up and cleaned off the dust. Yep, definitely the horn of Windcaller. I took a quick glance and then circled and marked areas of the map. Enemy of the thalmor, perhaps our similar fields of interest will serve us well.

"So, I got what I needed from you. Now I need to know what you need from me."

"Good, I was afraid you wouldn't cooperate."

"By the looks of it," I waved a hand at the map. "You want to me to either kill thalmor or kill dragons. I have experience in doing both."

"Hmph, well, sorry but no thalmor yet. I still need you to prove that you are dragonborn."

"FUS RO!" I shouted, blowing away the quills from the table and Delphine from the floor.

"Well, that was something. But we still need to test if my theory is correct."

"You marked dragon tombs on the map. I suppose you think dragons are coming back to life. Mm, Kynesgrove, rings a bell." Delphine smiled at what I said.

"I wasn't sure at first, but you seem like someone who knows their way around things…and people. You were right. I think the next place a dragon is going to be reborn is Kynesgrove. I want you to come with me to fight the dragon and to take its soul." Confident...good. That means she has planned everything. I don't know how well or how much she planned, but at least she put thought into it. That's what matters, right?

"Alright, I need to go somewhere. I'll meet you here in a few days."

"Fine, I'll just see you - where did he go?"

The dragonborn, what an interesting man. I imagined him to be taller. When I saw him tread into my inn with his ponytail swishing from side to side, his steps light and silent, I thought him to be a merchant of some sorts. But the way he looked around and the sound of his voice when he talked proved otherwise. He only had less than second to look at the inn. Yet, I'm positive that he just found all strategic locations of the inn. Whether he needed to attack or defend, he will be able to do so quickly and effectively. He wore commoner clothes. But the way he moved when he walked, showed the clothes served a purpose; to hide what was underneath. He won't be hiding much from me, I have more experience in hiding stuff than anyone.

After centuries of waiting to no avail, I have not given up hope. I have kept waiting. it seems I have done well in that regard. I kept the order alive. Finally a dragonborn shows up at my doorstep, and a capable one at that. Finally after all this time, I have a dragonborn at my fingertips.

**I edited this story a shit ton and changed everything but then chrome crashed and didn't save, I forgot how I changed it so I didn't try changing it again. **


	12. Past and Present

**13/11: Thanks to HavenHearts for telling me about the double scene. I fixed it, but this chapter is shorter than other chapters.  
**

**Well, that took a while. I don't know how, but for some reason there was no internet and no vpn in my apartment. Since my phone runs on the same thing as the internet, there was no home phone either. I don't have a cell phone so I had to make calls to the company at my friend's apartment which made it take longer than it should have. How long has it been since the last chapter? A month? It's definitely been too long. And a quick update on my personal life, I found a part time job that makes me 30rmb an hour which is about 5 canadian dollars or so. It's a start.**

I slipped a note beneath the door and headed out to return the horn. Better finish one objective before starting the next. The greybeards said they had something for me after I returned it. Better collect to make my future easier. Maybe I should have stayed until the morning at least, but wasting time isn't something I'm interested in. Life is too short to be spent waiting.

Delpine. She might be someone worth noticing. Some people hide their plots against others with praises and kind words. Yet those who wish for nothing but someone's well-being are honest and harsh with them. Delphine. She plans things against me but attempts to seem like she wants to help me. What should I do in a situation like this? Well, I suppose I'll just play along. When did that ever go wrong? Probably shouldn't ask that.

After five days had passed, I pushed open the door of the inn only to have a tankard thrown at me. I probably could have caught it if I paid any attention at all. But the expression on the person throwing it at me proved that being hit by it wasn't such a bad idea.

"Bastard! How dare you leave with nothing but a note" Ka'itria shouted at me. "I travelled months and waited years just to see you! And you don't even stay one night with me!? I stayed up waiting for you to come in! All I did was wait for you... like I did for the last two years."

"I'm... sorry." It really has been a long time.

**WHY DO YOU HATE ME!?** The difference between a Khajiit slapping you and a human slapping you was that a human doesn't leave four cuts across your face. But that was the least of my problems right now

**Come here** Her emotions were mixed and she didn't know how to feel nor did I know what to say. But I did know she was in need of a hug. I've just become the worst brother in Tamriel haven't I?

"There are some things I have to take care of," and brother made his exit. That was his problem solving at work; just avoid trouble and you'll never get into trouble.

**Ka'itria... I'm sorry** I held her as she cried. She was happy because she found me. She wanted to just return to what we were like before everything went out of hand, before mistake were made and things were lost. We both know that's not possible. But if I caught on, we could have pretended, at least for a little while. Maybe it's not too late.

**What can I do to make up for it? Come on, anything** She raised her head and let me wipe away the last tear.

**Alright** she said. **Just please don't stop caring for me. I don't plan to stop caring for you.**

**I know I don't act like it, but I still love you. You trust me, right?**

**I suppose.**

**Good.** I scratched behind her ear igniting a purr in her throat

**Pesh, stop that.**

**But you're so cute when I do it - Ow. What was that for?** Four cuts appeared on the other side of my face

**But you're so cute when I do that.** she licked the blood from my cut.

**That was creepy.**

**I don't care. Anyways, since you asked for 'anything'** A wick smile spread from her lips. Something told me this wasn't going to go well.

It's been a while since my thane's brother left. Now it was just us three woman and my thane. Most men wouldn't mind being in his place, but the three women are his sister, servant, and a stranger who is kind of a dick. I stared at my thane's face, and Ka'itria bit into his shoulder. They had a conversation in their cat language which to me sounded like no more than a lot of hissing and rolling of tongues. Or in this case was Ka'itria crying and screaming while my thane was doing the same except on the inside. I'm still a little surprised at how his sister could fall asleep so quickly after being so excited.

"Lydia, why are you staring at me?"

"Oh, um. I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"Any reason?"

"Well, your sister is biting into your shoulder, and I'm worried about the fact that you hadn't noticed."

"I had, but I don't really want to wake her."

"So," I wondered if I should ask this question, but my thane was open to me, "you mentioned something that happened in the past?"

A brief look of pain passed through his face but a blink flushed it away.

"Mistakes were made, people died, unexpected results occurred, she died."

I looked down. Should I think he trusted me because he gave answer, or should I think he distrusted me because the answer was in pieces. But, who is she? A comrade? A sword sister? A lover? My thane had a lover before? He must have, but it seems so strange to me that my thane would be… intimate with someone else. Most importantly, why do I care so much?

"Sorry for asking. Must have brought up bad memories. I didn't know."

"You did, but that's good. I thank you. The most painful memories are the memories one can learn most from." Painful, of course, but he kept his smile up. He is strange but still clear on what he's talking about. I have many painful memories. What can I learn from them?

"Hurry up back there," Delphine called from in front. She was almost jogging, eager to find a dragon. I'm not as eager, but I am sure that I will be fine. However, I couldn't care less what happens to me…at least I shouldn't.

A light storm started to brew as we neared Kynesgrove. It scared me how fast the clear and sunny skies changed to snow and clouds. But Delphine and my thane seemed to have expected it. Emptied was the village of both people and animals. What could have chased them away? My thane shook awake his sister who rubbed her eyes and slapped my thane in the face.

Kynesgrove. I remember the name. This was the place Soling returned. It is in the most immediate danger. They probably saw the dragon and left.

"Dragon!" someone shouted. Well, I suppose someone's left. The voice sounded so familiar. Soling. What a coincidence.

"What are you guys still doing here?!" she shouted at us. "A dragon is attacking!"

"Stand aside, peasant, I-" I pushed Delphine to the side before she finished.

"I promised I would visit, didn't I?"

"Dragonborn," she whispered too quietly to hear. "You came back. I missed you…WHY DIDN'T YOU COME SOONER!? WHY ARE THERE MARKS ON YOUR FACE!? DID YOU HAVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH ANOTHER WOMAN!?"

"Okay, well, firstly I-"

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOUR EXCUSES! But I am happy you are back. I missed you so much. Why were we apart for so long?"

"Well, the last we met was less than a month ago."

"IT FELT LIKE DECADES! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME? I'm so happy the waiting has ended." If I was younger, I would probably be scolding her. No, I would probably have killed her already.

"Alright, you guys can shut up now as my theory has been proven correct. We have a dragon to kill."

"Let's hurry up. I'm hungry. I skipped lunch," Ka'itria mumbled while facing the wrong direction. Obviously still not awake.

"Soling, can you do me a favour and put my sister in bed?"

"Does she need a litter bin?" Soling smirked.

"Fuck you!" Ka'itria said before stumbling forward into Soling's arm and falling back asleep.

"Alright, fine," Soling said dragging her away. "I'll be waiting for you. Don't take too long."

"Hmm" Ka'itria grumbled

A few minutes soon passed.

"Stop pushing," Delphine told Lydia.

"Why don't you stop talking?" I retorted.

"Why don't you mind your damn business and-"

"Mm? Are there mortals in my presence?" one of the dragons muttered.

"I didn't mean to do that."

"Shut up, Delphine. You just blew our cover. Oh well, I guess that's the end of that." I walked out from behind the rock to face the dragons.

**So, short chapter. Anyways, I'm trying to install the character in the last review into my story. Like I mentioned, I'm writing to practice writing, so please give reviews. Reviews help me more than you think and in the end followers and favourites are just numbers but reviews are thoughts from the readers.**


	13. Some Things Never Change

**Took a while but I managed to squeeze out another chapter from my non existent imagination. I'm planning on re writing my old chapters, does anyone know how to change the old chapters without deleting the chapter and posting it again? If you do, put it in a review or a pm will you? One more thing, should I write in who's POV it is at the start of every break? Or does that make reading it less immersive?**

* * *

"Yeah, we're over here," I called out.

A ground shaking noise game from the darker dragon, but I'm pretty sure that was just a sigh in dragon.

"I leave him to you, Sahloknir." Alduin flapped his wings and began his ascension. It seems the one called Alduin figure me to be not worth his trouble and left me to his newly resurrected servant. It would have been disadvantageous if he stayed, one dragon was already a bit too much. I waited for Alduin to leave. It seems Sahloknir was doing the same.

"My lord, Alduin, requires your death. I am only glad to oblige him," Sahloknir muttered. I wonder if it was hard for dragons to talk, with the amount of damage their tongues can cast.

"I figured as much," my voice said returning to its normal volume. Now that the other dragon is gone, this is more like a duel. But the fact that's it's a dragon and about two hundred times bigger than me kind of tips the scale in his advantage a little bit.

"My name is Sahloknir. Hear my voice and desp-" He stood on his hind legs, wings spread. "AHHH! MY EYE!" without waiting for him to be ready, I threw a knife into its eye. The dragon landed back and on all fours and shook his head, causing the blade to detach itself and fly elsewhere.

"Ahhhh! my arm!" shouted Delphine. At least I know where my knife went.

"My thane!" Lydia shouted. "I'm here to assist you!"

"Lydia, maybe you should sit this one out, I mean you armour is steel and he can-

A wave of fire enveloped Lydia faster than I could react. It didn't last long but it was hot enough to light Lydia's steel a dim orange.

"-breathe fire" I finished uselessly

Lydia screamed and tried to remove her armour, I jumped in to help only to have the steel burn my hand as I touched it. But with the knowledge that I could not just leave the armour on her, I reached for the buckles and tried to avoid the hot steel as best I can. After removing most of the armour leaving Lydia only in her undergarments, her eyes opened wider as she stared at me, no not at me, behind me]

"Behind you!" I looked behind me to see what caused the warning, the only thing I saw was a blinding white which was a very bad thing. Lydia and I threw ourselves forward as the blast of cold hit the ground. Attempting to protect ourselves from attacks are going to take us anymore, the only way to solve the problem is to kill it, works for me.

As I turned and observed the dragon I noticed a small fire igniting around the damaged eye of the dragon melding the broken bits. As it turns out, I cannot permanently handicap a dragon without killing it. But it does take time to mend the eye, trying to plan out a way to kill the dragon before the eye has time to finish. I think it could work the only problem is the large chance of me dying the next time it opens its mouth.

* * *

I spat out dust as I stood back up. That certainly did not go according to plan. Why is it that every time I attempt to help my thane I end up either injuring him or myself. Maybe I would help more if I just stopped trying to help. I pushed myself up and leaned against a rock deciding to watch rather than fight. If I fought, I might accidentally stab my thane or something stupid. Oh gods, I'm so useless. At least when I was a slave I helped people. Whether it was cleaning the floor or washing the laundry, at least I accomplished things. Was escaping a bad idea? I've brought nothing but harm to the people I've met. Even while serving in the guard many mistakes were made. Everyone had forgiven my mistakes and rewarded me for simply doing what I should. But even if others can accept me and my actions, can I be as forgiving to myself?

* * *

Simply swinging a sword would never pass through his armour of scales. The dragon at the watchtower was a lot weaker and slower. His scales decayed and thin, his soul old and tired. The simple arrows of the guards were able to damage him. I do not support the guards' methods, but they are just doing what they can to defend their city. The only way to kill Sahloknir was to take off the scales at a vital and slice through it before he can react. I found this spot connecting the dragon's head to his neck. The scales are light and soft. If I can give myself enough time to-

"ROOOOOOOOAR!" I sidestep to my right ducking a ball of fire. My fingertip moved to touch the hilt of a blade, and I lower my body preparing to move. If I am able to get the blade between his scales, I might be able to pry the off.

"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!" Okay, I really need to stop thinking while standing still..

When the doors to my demise closed, I jumped onto his muzzle and ran up to his horn. Jumping off the horn, I used the force of gravity to help me lodge the daggers in the small space between the scales.

Sahloknir did not fly to gain his possible airborne advantage.

"The best mortal weapon cannot penetrate my scales! You have no chance!" I have no time to feed its ego. I try to step on the knife to jam it further but he shakes his head throwing me off.

"Your cowardice annoys me. You desecrate the dovah title! STAND AND FIGHT!" Stand and fight? Against a dragon? I think I'd rather keep doing what I'm doing.

Salhoknir flapped his wings and began his ascension into the storm. This might be my last chance, if he is airborne again, I won't be alive to see him come down. My hand goes into my clothes to bring out another knife. I squint to make my vision more precise and bring my hand back only to shoot it forward. The flight was quick, and the target was hit. The dragon roared and stumbled over itself, I took the chance and climbed up the dragon.

The dragon roared and tried to shake me off, but couldn't. Unfortunately the only reason I stayed on was because I was stuck there.

The scales and muscles meant they are heavier than they look. Their wings are large but the rest of the body still weighs it down. During a straight vertical ascension, their wings can only go a few ten metres every time its wings move. Since I'm already on the dragon, all I need to do is stay on until it is stable enough for my hands to be free. As dragon prepared for the next flap of the wings, I pulled on the hilt hard enough for a line of scales to pop off the dragon. I didn't pay attention to the scales falling to the earth but I sword I heard a 'donk' and a shout.

"Face me like a kendov, dovahkinn," face him? Eeee, I think I'll stay here

I drew my sword and jabbed it through the vulnerable skin. The dragon roared and shook as I went deeper. Digging my feet into the rough surface of the dragon's neck, I pulled out my sword and repeated the motion. The dragon was trying harder and harder to shake me off. I gripped the hilt tighter in an attempt to stay on, but this only snapped the hilt off the blade.

"Huh," I stared at the hilt as I began rolling onto the front of the dragon.

I managed to hang on to the horn with my leg and awkwardly manoeuvre to the dragons face. After balancing myself, I noticed I was right in front of its eye.

"Hello," I said right before my foot went through its other eye

Since it was becoming increasingly difficult to hang on to the dragon it wasn't a surprise that I lost my grip again. With less than a second to spend on finding a new way to hold on, I let my instincts work for me. It was only raw luck that my instincts decided to let me run both my hands into the eye. Wanting to use my advantage further, I dug my hands deeper and began moving them. Honestly, I had no idea what my hands were doing and I didn't really want to know what the sticky stuff was. But what mattered was that it hurt enough for the dragon to lose its concentration on flying. When I turned my head I realised that we were in fact flying into a forest at a very dangerous speed.

"Oh shit!"

* * *

After confirming the fact that we stopped moving I left my shelter behind the dragon's scales. I expected to go into the middle of the forest, but turns out we slide far enough to get to where we started right beside its burial mound. I don't think I was seriously injured or dead but there was wood stuck in pretty much every part of my body. I confirmed the dragon's death by whispering: 'hey, are you dead?' into the dragon's ear, or at least what I thought was its ear. The procedure of taking the dragon soul began and I walked back to my company.

"Well, that went well," I said out loud. "Delphine, the dragon's dead. Need anything else or is that it?"

"Mm, come to Riverwood later. I'll be waiting." Before I could respond, she ran off.

Delphine quickly hid behind a tree and looked around to make sure no one was there. A knot was undone and a set of underwear was slid down. She squat down and began… well… satisfying her private needs.

"Ahh," Delphine said. "I've been holding it in for so long."

* * *

I looked up to my thane as he stood there. He had a weapon in hand and blood on his body. The newly acquired dragon soul is making his body shine a little. His ponytail swung from side to side in the gentle breeze and his face looked deep in thought. The look he had was one of a storybook hero, it was the look one would expect to see in the old paintings. It was like as though battle like that were so common to him he didn't even notice it happen. How did someone like me get to meet someone like him? I'm not nearly as experienced on the battlefield and has nothing else that I'm I'm supposed to protect him, but I can't.

* * *

And so I stood there looking into the distance wondering what we'll be having for dinner. I've always liked fish. But in the area we lived in elsewhere, fish isn't exactly common. There are always travelling hunters and fishermen who pass by our area, but by the time they arrive the fish would have been dead by days. Wait, where am I?

* * *

"Hey, Lydia." My thane had already sheathed his sword and was crouching to talk to me. I couldn't face him. He fought the most deadly creature in Skyrim or perhaps even Tamriel. And I made him fight it alone. I'm also not wearing my armour, it's not the first that happened but still.

I pulled the breastplate over while my thane pressed the back piece into it so I could tie the straps. It wasn't as hot as before but still warm, in fact the warmth went pretty well with the fur layer and it's actually pretty comfortable.

* * *

I rubbed my eyes as I left the bed. Where was I again? Oh right, Soling's house. Sheesh, brother couldn't have been here for that long. Where did he become such a playboy? His libido wasn't that high back in the day. But that Lydia though, she is interesting. In the few days I spent with her at the inn, she didn't even try to make conversation with her. When I got tired of waiting for her to talk, I tried to start a conversation. She answered me with one word and the conversation ended. Kind of unsettling to be honest.

She is called a housecarl if I remember properly. In Skyrim, housecarls are guards who protect everything to do with their masters. Brother wasn't one for servants. With his position he could have had ten people following him and doing everything for him, but he wasn't even okay with one and looked to others who hold personal servants with contempt. He said it was too much of a waste to a life to live it in servitude, to not work towards helping the society and use life to help one other person. Why was he keeping one? Perhaps he was keeping Lydia around for another reason. He has changed more than I thought possible since the accident. Fundamental morals shouldn't be changed that easily, should it?

A knock on the door was heard, Soling ran as fast as she could to answer it. She then tripped on a chair. I stood up and went to greet my brother, but with a more positive light this time. I hope he's not mad at me for last time. Nah, how can anyone be mad at me?

Brother was wearing his trademarked expression on his face. Lydia on the other hand, was nervous and refused to look at anyone in the eye. Gee, how can someone be this depressed all the time.

"Sister, Soling, how are you two?"

"I'm great now that you're here!" Soling said not before tackling brother with a hug. "You know, it's kind of late to travel now. How about you spend a night here? How does that sound?" I'm almost sure that she would say the same if it was 6 in the morning.

"I-" before a second word came out, Soling trapped my brother in a kiss. Brother looked like he was dying so I figured it was time to save him.

"Hey Soling," I tapped her shoulder, "your kitchen is on fire." I pointed to the bonfire the kitchen floor has become.

"Oh shit," brother thanked me as Soling and Lydia went to put out the fire.

"Want to go for a walk with me?"

"Let's go," I replied. Nothing like watching the sunset with my brother.

* * *

The forests of Skyrim were beautiful. The green leaves swayed in the gentle breeze. The snow had long stopped, but the little bit of snow left on the trees and plants were gently falling to the ground. There was a small pond next to the tree we were sitting under. As clear as crystal, the water was motionless. There was only one problem…it was so cold. With that thought in mind, I dug myself further into my brother and wrapped his jacket over me.

**Want to talk about Lydia?** I asked, playing with my brother's ponytail. I missed this. We used to spend a lot of time together just enjoying the company, it usually ends in him yelling at me but it's fun nevertheless. I would sit in his lap and look at the scenery, if I tried hard enough, I could pretend that we were the only people in this world and that problems were non-existent. He would sometimes massage my shoulders. Other times, he would just sit and close his eyes. We would talk. We would talk for hours without stop about anything that came to mind. Our conversations never seemed to end. But now, we were discussing other people. I hope he still cares about me as much though.

**Do you want to?** his voice holds less enthusiasm than before, but I still recognise when he wants to do something but doesn't say it.

**Why not? She's interesting.** after a short silence I added **Plus, she could use some help.**

**You think so too?**

**It was too obvious,** I said. **Something's gone wrong in her life. What can you do about that though, should you just try to forget about it? You probably know.**

**Heh," he shook his head, **I wish I did.**

Gentle hands ran down my sides and kneaded the muscle in my thighs. I could feel the knotted muscle relaxing and my flexibility returning. Pressure I didn't know was there was being released. Laying my head back onto his shoulder, I sighed. His hands moved further through the insides of my thigh. It was feeling even better as he went further, how would it feel if he got to the end NO, NO, DON'T THINK ABOUT THAT, HE'S YOUR BROTHER

Meanwhile, inside Soling's house.

"So, nothing happened between you two?" Soling asked again.

"I swear our relationship is strictly master and servant!"

"Is that the truth?" Soling asked, pushing the dagger closer to Lydia's neck.

Lydia swallowed.

"I swear!"

"Should I believe you?" Lydia blinked at the question

"How should I answer that?" she cried

Back outside… WOOSH!

**You know, I think maybe we should be heading back soon.**

I slowly opened my eyes to his voice. It felt like I just woke up from a very good dream. My eyes travelled to inspect his face. His eyes were half-closed as he looked ahead. His pupils shifting slightly to look at every crevice of the tree bark. Golden sunlight reflected off his eyes. Skin tightly held onto his cheekbones making his cheeks sink in slightly. His lips were thin and light in colour, decorated by small amounts of facial hair from not shaving. I don't know what human standards are but, to me, that's the best anyone can look.

**So? Want to head back?**

**You look delicious** I mumbled

**What?**

**I MEAN, LET'S GO BACK!** I leapt off his lap and onto the ground below.

He shook his head and followed suit. But he could not make it to the ground as I have tied his hair to the tree.

**GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!** I giggled as I ran away, some things never change.


	14. Cats

**Well, my uploading rate has been slowing down over the course of time. But that's been because instead of writing new chapters, I have switched my focus to rewriting all my old ones. I was going through my earlier chapters the other day when my eyes started bleeding. Maybe I'll get more readers if I make sure the first thing they see isn't even as good as this slice of poop cake below. Well, enjoy I guess. Oh and to the person who submitted characters. I'm not going to be putting in characters from other people's mods, I really don't think that's a good idea. Also, you might not see them for a while because I already planned about 10 chapters ahead. If anyone wants, you can still suggest some characters, i guarantee it will be put in, I just can't guarantee when. **

* * *

I opened the door to Soling interrogating Lydia. It was rather irresponsible of me to leave anyone alone with Soling now that I think about it. There was a fire in the kitchen when we left, but we were out there for more than an hour. That was enough time to wrap up everything and start torturing Lydia.

"We're back," I said. Soling quickly hid the knife and ropes in her clothes and came to greet me. "What were you doing to Lydia?"

"Umm...chatting?" She says chatting but the look on Lydia's face says 'please help me'

"Why do you have a rope and knife, then?"

"I was, um, cutting the rope with the knife?"

"Soling."

"FINE! I'm sorry!"

"God damn it Soling. Go apologise to Lydia before I make you stand in a corner and reflect on your life."

"Don't think he's joking," sister said. "He actually made me do that once."

"Maybe it was because you almost shot my heart out with an arrow. You're lucky the wind was in the right direction."

"It wasn't anywhere close to your heart!"

"It was less than 5 centimetres away."

"That's pretty far!"

"It went right through my lung, it took the healer two days to patch me up."

Seeing no available arguments in her favour, my sister widened her eyes and stuck out her lower lip. I sighed and hugged her. There are times where you have to just give in to avoid your heart giving out.

* * *

Another piece of salmon was pierced on the split. Apparently, what people say about cats and fish is true. Ka'itria has been in the south ever since she was born and has never tried any fresh salmon. I am the same, but I'm not staring at the meat slowly turn in circles with drool hanging out of my mouth.

"Is it finished yet?"

"Ka'itria, dear?"

"Yes?"

"It's been cooking for about twenty seconds."

"Is that a no?" I responded by hitting her with a fish.

"Why are you so mean to me?" she yelled

"Lydia, I'm sorry. Please forgive me," Soling said, muffled with Lydia's leg against his face. It was kind of uncomfortable to have someone cradling your legs. But it's better than before

"Please, please , please , please , pretty please?" she begged again, grabbing Lydia harder. "I'll do anything! Just say three words, please?"

"Soling. You really don't need to-"

"No, not until you forgive me."

"Well, um, I forgive you."

"THANK YOU SO MUCH LYDIA!" And then she proceeded to jump up and pull Lydia into a passionate kiss, confusing the poor housecarl further both about what is currently happening and her sexual orientation.

* * *

Dinner was quiet, just how I liked it. I was never a fan of using dinner as an excuse for talking to each other. Just finish dinner and do whatever at another time or another place. I put another piece of cabbage in my mouth. It was a wonder how the produce was so fresh in these temperatures. Maybe that's why the nords liked eating meat so much, because breeding animals are easier than farming.

"Hey brother, remember the time I stabbed you with a spear while you were cleaning the dummies?" Well, there goes my silence.

"Did that actually happen?" inquired Soling.

"Yeah, it was really funny! Well, for a little while. After brother finished treating his wound, he spanked me until I cried."

"I hit you twice," I commented.

"It really hurt!"

"Not as much as being stabbed with a spear and getting treated by a novice surgeon with no knowledge in human anatomy. Geez, what kind of doctor haven't seen hairless skin before." And that ended that conversation. I hope another one doesn't get sparked up; I want the time to think.

"So, how did you find Ma'yisha in Skyrim anyways?" Soling asked. Well, there goes all my hopes and dreams for silence.

"Oh, really easy." Ka'itria plopped a piece of cloth on the table, "I found this so I knew brother was there. Beside it I found this, this, this, and...this," she said while putting an imperial emblem, a broken chain link, a piece of blue cloth with a bear sewn on it and a studded cylinder made of golden metal. The cylinder was rounded at one end and about as long as a hand.

"Oops, that's mine," she said as she put the last object back in her pack before everyone figured out what it was, "Anyways, with these items, I figured some imperials had a fight with the blue bears or something and one of those sides was captured. Chances are brother walked in at the wrong time and surrendered to avoid complications. Then I saw what happened to Helgen. I decided to just make my way north and soon ran into my brother in a forest."

"I doubt you came up with any of that by yourself," I said.

"Fine. Cai predicted everything while I sat down and ate moonsugar. I got so hyper Cai had to chase me for half an hour. It was fun until he started lecturing me about health. Then I fell asleep half-speech and he tossed me in a pond. I was pretty pissed because the rest of my moonsugar got soaked and then he started yelling at me again. So I started crying and he spent half an hour comforting me. So, yeah, that's pretty much it."

"What?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" she went back to eating

I wondered if that was the last I'm going to hear from this group of people. Soling and Ka'itria had already finished talking. Lydia still believes that a servant like herself should not talk unless spoken to. Heck, it even took a while to convince her to eat at the table with us. There was something about how the table is for guests and servants are not guests. However, this doesn't sound like Nordic traditions. Was she from somewhere else?

"My thane, I don't mean to bother you. May I speak?" Well, sometimes being right doesn't make me happy.

"Sure, what's up" I responded.

"Thank you my thane. Your generosity towards me is unfaltering. I wish to offer you some salmon. You have not eaten anything other than the vegetables."

"No thanks, friend, I'm good. I don't eat meat anymore." Soling looked at me in disbelief while Lydia did the same only she tried to hide it.

"What?" I said. "It's healthy."

"When did you go vegetarian?" sister asked

"A while back,"

By the time I finished my plate of food, sister has already eaten three entire salmons. How is beyond me, salmons are rather large fish for a pretty small khajiit. A lot had happened today, and most of it has given me even more to think about. All I want to do is-

"Ma'yiiiishie!" Soling called out...there goes my plans.

"Yes?"

"Come with me!"

* * *

Sheesh, Soling's lust became even clearer when they sat down together around the fire afterwards and she wouldn't let go of brother's waist…slut.

"So, are you guys all staying here?"

"We could go to the inn. The innkeeper ran away so we don't need to pay for anything," I suggested.

"Well, I have two bedrooms with a double bed each. I call the bigger one!" She took brother's arm in both hands and pulled him with her into one of the rooms upstairs. Brother seemed too tired to even care.

"So," I said. "I guess we get the other bedroom?"

"She said the bedrooms only have one bed. You should take the bedroom. I will find somewhere else to rest," Lydia spoke. The light frown on her face expressing the disagreement between her heart and her mind.

"Come on, I'm not a bad bed-mate I swear. My fur isn't as bad quality as you'd expect. I'm like a furry blanket that heats up." If someone killed me and skinned me would my fur be worth a lot of money?

"NO!" Her face quickly turned to one with fear. Either she had no sense of humour or I did. It's probably the latter. Every time I try to crack a joke, people take it the wrong way. Almost got myself killed a few times. Well, technically I almost got my siblings killed a few times. They were always protective of me. "I didn't mean to offend you. Your fur is perfect!"

"That's not what I meant. Let me put it another way. You can share the bed with me if you want to."

"I can't force that onto you! You are my thane's sister. You are my master as much as he is." Master? The only thing my brother's mastered is sucking. Now that I think about it he was against servants and slaves since forever. Does that mean she didn't listen to him? And here I was thinking housecarls honoured obedience the most. Or maybe she didn't listen to everything he said. But wouldn't that be a good thing because she isn't a total servant? This world is so confusing. Why do people exist? Why can't we all be cats running around the jungle? Because I would die first. Yeah that's probably it.

"You're not forcing anything onto me," I grabbed her arm. "Come on, let's go!" If I said anything I would probably just had made the situation worse. Four siblings in total and I'm the stupid one. At least I'm also the adorable one that everyone likes for until I start talking at least.

After going into the wrong room several times and trying to ignore Lydia stifling a giggle, I finally found the bedroom. It was simple, just the way I like it. A wardrobe leaning against the wall and a bed in the centre of the room, a chair in a corner with two legs, nothing says comfy like broken furniture and empty storage space. I kicked the door closed as I opened my pack. I decided to bring it just in case. Soling decided to look through it. Also, I might make use of some of its contents.

I watched the items that fell out of the bag held by my thane's sister carefully. Trying to remember all of the items, I started to wonder how it was possible to fit so many items in such a small pack. I tried my best to name the things that came out; candy, candy, moonsugar, candy, wine, a knife, candy, a doll, another doll, a strange cylinder with a round end and nubs sticking out of- OH, THAT'S WHAT IT IS. Damn, I kind of wish I haven't figured it out.

"That's a lot of… entertainment."

"Hey, don't judge me now, I'm more mature than I seem I swear."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't being condescending. I wouldn't dare to." I slowly dropped to my two knees. "Please forgive me."

After a certain amount of time spent kneeling I realised that I haven't heard any moving for a while. When I looked up I realised that she was already sleeping peacefully on the bed. I sighed and stood back up. I suppose I already knew she wasn't the kind of person to get mad at me, but it was a reflex that was trained over the years. I pinched out the bedside candle and began undressing. It was time to see if what she said about the furry blanket checks out.

As the night passed I realised I have not been more comfortable in my life. I squeezed the khajiit even tighter into myself and I heard a light vibrating sound coming from her chest. I probably shouldn't be smothering her like this but she is so warm and so furry. Plus, it's night time and we're both tired, it doesn't sound like she's not unconsciously enjoying this either. I pinched her ear a little. With the body structure of the khajiit and the casual conversation, I almost forgot how close they were to cats. After the ears, I moved to feel the whiskers and the tail. I suddenly remember that cats have a unique texture to their tongues. I couldn't help but be curious as to whether hers had it. Her mouth was open and she was sleeping, it was the perfect opportunity. My fingers began sliding in, just one touch and I would retract it, it was the perfect plan.

SNAP

Well, that didn't go very well.

* * *

"Mmm, harder, Ma'yisha, mmmm, faster," Soling mumbled into my arm. Something told me that her dreams would keep me from sleeping this entire night.

"Mmmm, use your tongue." Fuck my life. How did I become a part of this? I try to save someone from a life they don't want and this is what I get? Oh well, no matter. I do what I can, what I receive in return is trivial.

"Mmm," Soling bit on her finger. "More…" The sad part is that I can't even pry her off.

With a moan, her face moved closer and closer to my face. I began thinking up ways I could start a fire and make it look like an accident.

The sun warmed my skin as I lay flat against the roof. It was nice to get to relax. I was still rather tired after having stayed up an entire night due to Soling's moaning and humping. Perhaps I finally have some time to sleep-

"Brother! Hi!" Well, there goes my plans.

"How was your night, sis?"

"It was alright." She plopped down beside me. "I woke up with Lydia's fingers in my mouth."

I kept looking at the dark blue sky.

"Aren't you going to ask?" she said after realising I wasn't about to break the silence myself.

"No"

"Damn, boring brother, almost as boring as other brother." That was surprisingly hurtful.

* * *

"By the way, you also need to start brushing your teeth before bed."

"I did!" I pinched her ear

"Ow! Fine I didn't, you're so mean to me"

"Not nearly enough," She slide down the roof and went about her business. Perhaps now I can get some sleep, but the sun is in my eyes, time to find a solution. I looked around and tore a tile off the roof and covered my face with it. This will work.

The birds chirp happily atop the evergreen trees. The sun gently shines off the ripples in the lake below. The view of the wilderness in Skyrim is able to make a man forget the troubles of life and realise the beauty of simplicity.

"AHHH YOU SPLIT IT EVERYWHERE!" someone screamed from inside the house

But when has ignorance gotten people anywhere.


	15. CoR: Ysolda

**So I decided that having one storyline would be too boring. Since I already put in two OC's, I'll need to be doing something with them. If anyone wants to be an alpha reader for my story just send me a pm. I could use one. Anyways, on with the chapter. **

**Chronicles of Ra'khashai 1: Ysolda**

I didn't plan this to happen. When I left the tavern I was expecting to go on a walk for a few minutes, or a few days if I feel like it. That's one of the things that came with travelling to this frozen wasteland, getting to do what I feel like. But what is life without a goal. So naturally I tried to find something to do. By the looks of it, I was going to be staying here for a while so I had to make a name for myself or increase my reputation at least. I thought perhaps I could do some mercenary work, kill outlaws, raid bandit camps and hunt down sweetroll thieves. The first step to doing that, would be to get a weapon. I had a spear when I left, but sister sold it on the way here. I didn't get mad at her though; I might have tied her to a tree for a full day but didn't get mad, not at all.

The guards at the Whiterun gates proved to be troublesome; they won't let me in due to dragons. I haven't seen a dragon, big lizards but no dragons. Thankfully, a Nordic woman was about to go in and told the guards I was with her. Not like I corrected her or anything.

"Thanks for getting me in, I really appreciate it."

"That's alright, I'm Ysolda by the way," she replied. There was a sweet tone to her voice. It wasn't the unnatural tone one hears from nobles and whores, however, this one sounded genuine.

"Ysolda, that's a beautiful name. I would tell you mine but I fear you won't be able to say it."

"I've met plenty of khajiits, I'm sure I'll do fine."

"Ra'khashai."

"Come again?"

"Ra-Kha-Shai" her brows furrowed, she opened her mouth to speak but quickly closed it again.

"Looks like you were right," I sighed, why did mother name me this? "Can I just call you Rak?"

"Sure," I've been so engulfed in the conversation I didn't notice we've arrived in front of a house. It was a humble house to be honest; large enough for only one or two people.

"Would you like to come in?"

"Uh," did I get better with women or is she just really nice. Or maybe she wants something from me. Why else would you invite someone to your house after meeting them for only a few minutes?

"Don't be shy, come on in." worth it

Despite the house being small, Ysolda didn't look like she was doing too bad. The place was decorated nicely and clean.

"Are you perhaps a couturier?" I asked looking at the supplies laid out.

"No, I'm just doing it to support myself for now. I hope to be a caravaneer one day. Speaking of which, are you from the khajiit caravans?"

"I'm sorry, but no. Just a traveller." She seemed disappointed in my answer and muttered something about letting me into the city. I tried not to hear.

"How's being a caravaneer going, Ysolda."

"It's… it's… you know, times are hard and… I" she suddenly broke down crying. Oops.

* * *

I filled two tankards with boiled water and dried tea leaves. Ysolda just had a sudden rush of emotions or at least that's what she claimed. I'm glad that she didn't push the matter to be honest. I am absolutely clueless on what to do when someone is upset. The only two things I can do are make it even worse, or back off slowly and then run away.

"Your house looks nice," I commented as I sat beside her on the bed, "you might not be a caravaneer yet, but you are definitely good at what you're doing now."

"Thanks, I'm sure you're not bad at whatever you do either." Well, thank you Ysolda, that was helpful.

"I'm a bargain hunter by the way, that means I buy and sell until I make money."

"I kind of figured you were a speechmaster of sorts. What do you want to do today?" She glanced out the window.

"The day is still fresh, how about you run an errand for me?" I raised an eyebrow

"Please?" she continued, "as a gift for my hospitality?" Guess I was right earlier about merchants, but why am I not happy.

"Sure," I said, "why not."

A mammoth tusk, where am I going to get a mammoth tusk? By killing a mammoth? No, I don't think I will do that. I will probably just get enough money to buy one instead. Damn, making money isn't that easy either. I could just do a mercenary job from the jarl. Maybe do some trading with the caravans. But to do trading I would need to start out with something, in my case, all I have are tea leaves. I could always trade starting with rare tea, but I really like my tea.

The guards opened the gates for me to leave, hopefully they'll remember me and let me in when I come back. I didn't know where to go from here. I recall at home, whenever I needed to make money in less than one day, I would go to villages and ask various people if they needed help. Sometimes I had to save a girl from bandits, sometimes I had to save some bandits from a girl on her period. I usually decline the latter, living is more important than money. Most jobs I got relied on the basis of killing people, the dark brotherhood is still present but they are saved for people who can pay better and need more personal work done.

As I wondered where I could find work, I heard something I've heard many times before; the clashing of steel and the cries of the wielders, a battle, how refreshing.

Oh, a giant. I've heard of giants, one of the many creatures unique to Skyrim and High Rock. They are supposed to be a peaceful bunch but once in a while one of them attacks a farm for some reason, but always alone, that makes solving the problem easier. I quickly pondered whether I should help the fighters. If I leave now, it will be like I never saw it. But if I help and we win, then I will hopefully gain renown. And nothing is more important when arriving in a new province.

I began making my way over to the giant, in nothing faster than a quick walking pace. I heard someone say something to me but I drowned it out. When I'm focused on something, nothing else matters. The giant saw me and began making his way to me, good, time for the next part of my plan. Someone was shooting arrows at the giant while another was wielding a greatsword but doing nothing other than distracting it. But now that it's focused on me, the arrows began missing more due to movement and the swordsmen tried to the keep up.

When the giant got closer I realised how big giants really are. My head was just below his waist area. My right foot shifted behind my other foot and I prepared myself to move. The giant got in range and brought his club back to prepare to swing it. What a formidable weapon, a stone tied to a tree branch. Most men would struggle to pick it up. Warriors would struggle to swing it. But the giant wields it like as though it was a quill. Very impressive, shame I have to kill you.

Launching myself forward I grab the shin of the giant. The club hitting the ground threatened to destabilise me but I managed to stay on my feet. Shifting my weight I pulled the giant's shin forward, throwing the giant to its back.

My weight held the giant down as I ran to face its head. It really did look just like a human would. I wonder if it died the same. Probably did.

I started with a quick left punch to his temple to keep him from resisting for a bit. I did the same on the right temple but harder. I punched him in his cheek until I heard a cracking sound. Suddenly, a hand grabbed me and tossed me aside. I landed harder than I would have if I expected it, but it wasn't going to stop me from finishing the giant.

The giant raised up a hand to me as I ran to it as though it was going to persuade me into leaving. It's not that easy though; I jumped and used gravity to empower my attack. My fist did a good job of keeping the giant from standing up again. The giant made a groaning sound, louder than would have been from a person but quieter than it would have been if he wasn't dying.

* * *

== Alea

I don't know how the cat got here in the first place but that isn't what's important. We were sent to do a job and he helped us finish it. That's worth something at least. The fact that he took out a giant without using a weapon was worth more.

"Nice work warrior" I slapped his back, "your help was needed, someone split mead in my quiver and ruined all my arrows." I could have sworn I saw someone leaving the corner of my vision.

"What do you mean? We could have totally taken that giant without him,"

"Vilkas, you looked like you were an old woman trying to swat a fly,"

"Damn it woman, at least I did something,"

"Yes you helped us a lot swinging your damn sword like a drunk!" I shot back

"At least I hit the giant!"

"Yes you did, you hit his hand with your face!"

* * *

== Kai

Another nord came back and handed me a bottle of mead. It seems mead was more common than water in these parts.

"Say, you look a lot like him," I pointed to the male member of the fistfight, "you two related?"

"It's pretty obvious isn't it? He's my twin."

"You two ends up in many situations like that?" I looked to see how the fight was going

"LET ME GO, LET ME GO" the elder brother screamed as the archer held him in a headlock

"SAY YOU'RE MY BITCH, SAY IT!" the archer shouted back

"Not really," he took a sip from his bottle, "let's check if the giant had anything on him."

"What can a giant-" the nord suddenly produced a ruby from the body "nevermind."

I tried to look for gold, I didn't mind any gold pieces but I found a mammoth tusk. There was a detailed carving on it. I guess giants have more culture to them than we knew about. I almost feel bad about killing it. No, it was attacking a farm, if he was smart enough to carve this he was smart enough to know the risks.

"Already Companions, let's head back." The giant nord called to the rest of his warband.

"But Farkas," one of them said, "what about Vilkas and Alea?" everyone followed her finger to the two on the floor.

"WHO'S THE BITCH NOW?" Vilkas shouted as he held Alea down with her arm behind her back

"RELEASE ME YOU HAIRLESS GORILLA!" Alea grabbed Vilka's leg and threw him down

"Let's ignore them," everyone nodded to what Farkas said

After a quick chat with the guards who still didn't want to let me in, I arrived inside the city again except this time with the warband instead of Ysolda. What did Farkas call them? Companions?

I pat my belt again to ensure that the tusk didn't fall out for no reason.

"The Companions reside at Jorvaaskr, the mead hall. Pay us a visit if you find the time."

I nodded to Farkas

"Goodbye," a companion said as they left

Well, time to go back to Ysolda

I raised my hand to knock but before my hand landed the door opened and I fell inside.

"You're back quick- THE MAMMOTH TUSK!" she quickly pulled it out from my belt

"Just trying to help," I stood back up

"Mm, how modest," she leaned over to kiss my cheek.

"Gee, is that what it takes to a get a kiss? I'd bring you all the mammoth tusks in the world."

"You wouldn't have to," she leaned over and kissed me again, this time not on the cheek


	16. Smile

**So, did you guys like my side-story? Leave a review telling me if I should continue those or focus on this story only will you? **

* * *

I walked in to see my sister sitting on the floor with a pot over her head with Soling and Lydia desperately trying to clean out bits of their breakfast out of the floorboards.

"Good morning my thane," Lydia said through a forced smile

"What's for breakfast?" I replied

Sister looked at my painfully. I think she understands the fact that I'm going to punish her later for it. Actually I probably won't, maybe I'll just be really nice to her to mess with her.

After an hour or so, we were finished picking out bits of vegetables from sister's fur. I was already planning to leave since Soling looked ready to stab either of the girls to death. But, just like I suspected, leaving is easier said than done.

"Ma'yisha don't go," Soling whined

"I have to go, there are too many things I must do. I promise I won't be long, I'll visit you often,"

"But-but if you leave, I'll be sad and lonely. Do you want me to be sad?"

"Of course not, you know I want the best for you."

"Then why are you leaving me?" her lip began to quiver, "you don't actually want me around do you?"

"Of course I want to you to be with me," I tried to sound as comforting as possible which is not going as well as I expected, "I want to stay with you as much as you want me to, but there are people I must help, people like you."

"It's-it's Lydia isn't it? You like Lydia more than me don't you?"

"What? I just-" before I could keep talking, she grabbed Lydia and pulled her over

"Is this why you would rather be with her?" her hand shot up Lydia's armour

"It's not that much bigger than mine!" her other hand followed and she began tugging Lydia's breasts in different directions inside her armour

"Please stop Ms. Soling" Surprisingly, she listened and her hands retracted from her armour. Unfortunately for Lydia and I, Soling wasn't done with her presentation yet. Next, she grabbed Lydia's hands and forced them unto her own breasts.

"Are these too small Lydia? ARE THEY?"

"No?" Lydia forced out

"Soling," I tried to say

"See? Even Lydia admitted-" I flicked the centre of her forehead with my finger

"Owww," she finally calmed down from her little trance

"What do we say?" her head dropped as I finished my sentence

"Sorry Lydia," she said still looking at the ground.

"No worries," Lydia began to slide out of the building before something like that happens again.

"Soling," I sat down after we were alone. I pat the chair beside me to signal her to sit down. Now that she's sitting, I am able to take a good look at her face. Her expression was genuinely pained. I considered not leaving and just staying, it would be nice just living a peaceful life with someone else who enjoys my company but I can't do that. I can't stay and neither can I get attached to someone else.

"I'm not leaving because of you, but you knew that already right?"

She nodded in response, still looking down instead of at me.

"Come here," I pulled her in for a hug, as I held her I could feel her breathing become more gentle and slower. I don't consider myself a very good comforter, but I always try when I need to.

"I don't want you to leave."

"I'll be back before you know it." She sighed deeply into my shirt and nodded. She breathed in heavily with her face still tucked between my neck and my shoulder.

"Can I have your shirt?"

"Oh," a strange request, "of course." I took off my outer shirt and handed it to her.

"Thanks," she smiled. I smiled too, it was comforting to know I could make people smile.

* * *

Meanwhile outside

Lydia had just taken off her armour to readjust her breast bindings. Soling groping her had ruined the position and now it was really uncomfortable. But something more uncomfortable was her thane's sister staring at her as she redid the binds.

"Are your boobs bigger than mine?" the khajiit suddenly asked

"BY THE DIVINES I DON'T KNOW OKAY, JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Lydia screamed as she ran off sobbing.

"B-but, what did I say wrong?" Ka'itiria's ears flattened

* * *

== Dragonborn

"So did you just leave Soling behind like that?"

"You've lived with me for almost twenty years, am I that kind of person?"

"Yes"

I sighed, there is really no way for me to argue with her.

"You knocked her out?"

"… well I suppose you could put it that way."

"Fair enough let's go,"

3 hours later, on the road to Riverwood

"You know," I said, "this trip is surprisingly peaceful. Usually when we travel, we always end up encountering wolves or thiefs-"

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" someone shouted

"GOD DAMN IT THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" my sister screamed and kneed my genitals. Lydia, on the other hand was actually aware of the situation and moved her hand towards her weapon. I was… in pain.

An elf, whose face shadowed by a hood, came onto the road preventing us from going further.

"Now," he said, spinning an elven dagger in his fingers, "give me all of your-

"SHUT UP YOU POINTY-EARED SPRIGGAN!" Sister grabbed his dagger and jammed it between his eyes

"Well," Lydia said, "that was anticlimatic"

Sister grabbed my ponytail and pulled me along.

* * *

== Lydia

A few hours have passed and we're still walking. My water bota is now just a bota and my feet feel like I've been standing on the skyforge.

"Aaaah, my legs are tired," the sister complained. I'm not annoyed though, in fact I'm happy about it. Maybe now we'll get a break. It's about time, my steel boots isn't helping me at all.

"Carry me brother," she hopped onto my thane's back

"Onwards my valiant steed!" she cheered

I guess we're not stopping after all

* * *

== Orgnar

Business as usual was pretty usual so far. Running an inn in one of the least popular towns in Skyrim doesn't make a lot of money but it's enough to have three meals a day and somewhere to sleep. That's all I really ask for but Delphine's loyalty to the blades was too strong. Even I can count the number of blades left with just my hands she still believes that the blades order can rise once again. I hope she is right for both her sake and mine, because she is just too fucking annoying to live with. Recently, she found a dragonborn she believes is key to the restoration of her order and the end to the apparent return of the dragons. She-

"Writing in your journal again, Orgnar? Maybe you should start tending to the inn instead" I signed and put down the book as I realised who the voice belonged to.

"Well, you're back rather quick," I said, tossing her a bottle of mead

"Yeah, was easier than I thought,"

"What, annoying the dragonborn to death?" she scowled at me but quickly continued what she was saying

"No, killing a dragon. Now we know that dragons can be killed."

"What's your plan? Killing all of them?"

"No, you stupid brute," she said, "you see, the dragons are not coming back, they are being resurrected. I know for a fact that the dead cannot resurrect themselves, which means that someone is behind the return of the-"

"Delphine, surely you don't mean-"

"Yes, the thamlor!"

I covered my face with my palm.

"You blame the thalmor about everything these days. Sure, many of our problems actually do come from the thalmor, how could dragons possibly have anything to do with them"

"Think about it, the dragons weakens the whole of skyrim. Who benefits from this but the thalmor?"

"That's flawless logic right there."

"I know right," she responded with a smile ignoring the obvious sarcasm in my voice, "now all we need is the dragonborn-

"Someone called?" a familiar voice said through the now open door

"Yes, I did," Delphine exclaimed, "you got here faster than I expected, I didn't even get a chance to sit down. Oh well, come with me" The apparent dragonborn and his little huscarl went with Delphine but the cat stayed and sat in front me. Without a word, she pulled out a book and began to read it.

"Nothing interesting happens here huh?" Her accent was thick and took me a few seconds to process what she said

"What gave it away?" I laughed

"Your journal, mostly,"

"Hmpf, yeah," I froze and dropped my tankard, "GIVE ME THAT!" I screamed

* * *

== Lydia

Finally, after endless hours of walking and running I finally get to sit. I saw that neither my thane or his sister had any problems with the trip, my thane might have been carrying his sister but still. Why do I feel do tired? Why am I always the weaker one? I'm supposed to be protecting him and serving his destiny. I was supposed to become a hero.

"You alright?" my thane asked

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Maybe you should get some sleep, you carried your weight in steel across half of Skyrim."

"I'm fine," as tempting as his offer was I decided to stay. I had to prove that I was strong enough to be his equal. And still, even after so much time spent with him, I do not trust him completely. He is my master, that's all I need to know to keep my guard up. But I suppose I could rest my head on the table for a little bit. Yes, that will work.

"GIVE ME THAT!" someone shouted from above us followed by some crashing of furniture

"CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!" someone I figured was my thane's sister shouted back

More crashing of furniture echoed through the building

"HAHA MISSED ME!"

"Well," my thane walked up and shut the door, "that's enough of that. Back to business then?"

My ears were pressed against the wood just as hard as Orgnar's was. I didn't care much about the dragons even though they would destroy the world if they weren't stopped. But I did want some information so that I would be able to make fun of brother later.

"-Who benefits from this but the thalmor?" Delphine said

"That's flawless logic right there." Brother retorted

"See," Orgnar said, "that's what I said when she told me that."

* * *

== Dragonborn

It was quite obvious that my sister was spying on me. But I made no move to stop her. It's not like anything we are talking about needs to be hid from her anyways. Lydia was sleeping despite insisting that she was fine a few seconds before she plopped down on the table. Delphine was giving a speech but everything she said was either unreasonable or blatantly obvious. The dragons are coming back to life; I think everyone should have figured that out already. If they died before, how are they here now? There's only one answer to that. But she suspects the thalmor are behind this. I cannot say I was ever fond of the thalmor, and chances are that the thalmor likes me less than I like them. But the thalmor being the cause of the dragons for lack of a better word is fucking retarded.

"Wait, dragons?" I heard sister ask

"You guys went together to go kill a dragon. I saw you leave."

"…"

"…"

"Oh yeah, right, I think I was asleep at the time though."

"You were asleep during a dragon fight?"

"Keep it down, they might hear us" Sister said despite the fact that I have been listening to their conversation for the past half hour. I realised how boring Delphine would have to be to make their conversation more interesting.

"That big black dragon that resurrected the other dragon," Delphine continued

"Yes?" I mindlessly replied

"That one was Alduin."

"Alduin?" Lydia inquired, finally waking up

"Yes, Alduin,"

"But, Alduin is the world eater," Lydia said, "his appearance symbolises the end of the world"

"Yes I suppose he does," I say still with no idea what Delphine's speech has been about to this point

"Hmph, back to what I was talking about. The thalmor are the only ones who might be behind the dragons-"

"I doubt that the thalmor have anything to do with the dragons,"

"Let me finish,"

"Alright sure why not."

5 minutes later

"This," Delphine pointed at the map, "is where the thalmor embassy is. A… party if you will is going to be held there soon."

"I know," I replied

"How?"

"Well…"

A while back

"_Excuse me, my lady," a voice behind me said_

"_I'm not a-_

"_Got a letter for you," _

"_I-_

"_Sorry, can't stay and chat, got to go," and with that, the apparent courier was gone_

"_I don't look that much like a woman do I?" I said to my sister who jammed two sweetrolls in her mouth to stop her from laughing_

I sighed to myself, maybe I need a haircut.


	17. Symbols

**AN: I need characters for The Arch Mage, The guildmaster of the thieves guild and the listener. If you want to, feel free to make an OC submission in a review or in a PM. Short chapter this time, next one will probably be longer. **

* * *

**Dragonborn**

Currently

"So that's basically what happened,"

"I see," she said grinning to herself, "I suppose you already know my intentions and why I'm telling you this,"

"You want to invade the embassy. I understand."

"Do you also understand why I would not to go myself?"

"Because you're afraid," I said, I noticed her tense a bit more at my observation, not like she had been calm this whole time. She had always been excited, but now it's a different kind.

"Do you know why I am afraid?" she inquired further

"Because you made enemies with ones better than you are. That's alright, I don't mind going. I owe you a favour for giving me the horn."

"My thane," a hand fell onto my arm, I was sure she was sleeping a second ago "infiltrating thalmor territory is dangerous, I wish to be by your side."

"I don't think so," Delphine said before I could reply, "The mission requires the dragonborn to not attract any attention. Having a Nordic servant will be like painting a giant target sign on his face." Well, there are supposed to be important people at the party, a housecarl probably won't stand out that much.

"I swore an oath to protect my thane. That is what I will do."

"By getting him killed?" What an uncomfortable conversation to be having

"He's going to be in danger, I have to-"

"You have to let him do his damn duty!" was running errands for you my duty now, Delphine. Well, I knew she was going to be that kind of person.

"I-," Lydia stammered with her words, "I have to do my duty too."

"Is your duty to get your thane captured by the thalmor?" Delphine's voice rose as soon as she realised she was winning the argument. My fingers began digging into the wood of the tables making splinters and a few holes. Let's hope this argument doesn't get too far. I don't want to intervene but I will if I have to.

"I-"

"Is that what you want? Look at me when I'm talking to you, you whore!" Alright, that's enough.

"Delphine?" I said

"What's the matter?" Delphine kept talking to the nord oblivious to my existence.

Suddenly, a crunching sound filled the air. The two women turned their heads to notice the chunk of wood in my hand I tore from the table.

"Let's try to calm down a little alright?"

"Sure," Delphine seemed to say to the piece of her table instead of to me

"Look," I dropped the wood, "I'm not trying to rude or anything, but you are. And that's a problem right about now. I owe you a favour and I'm trying to return that favour, which is rather hard for me if you are going ruin it before we start."

"Fine," Delphine said after a pause, well I guess 'fine' was a whole lot better that what she almost said.

"There's a wood elf in Solitude, name's Malbourne. Annoying guy, but hates the thalmor as much as us and would probably help you on your mission." She turned her back on us

"I thought the bosmer were allies with the thalmor,"

"I thought the khajiit were allies with the thalmor too."

"Fair enough," I sighed

"And I thought this day couldn't get any worse, guess things are never what they seem."

"My table," I heard Delphine whimper as we ascended the stairs. Lydia's head was down and seemed to be… well let's just say uncomfortable.

"That wasn't very fun," I say. She keeps her head down and slightly cowers away from me. I wish I could help her.

* * *

**Lydia**

I start to regret becoming a housecarl. Being a part of the city guard, even if I was the commander, was a lot easier. Life was simple, all I had to do was watch for anything that may harm to the city of Whiterun, may it be common thieves or bandit attacks. In fact, being commander was helpful for me. It meant I could spend time alone. It meant that no one was there to laugh when I wake screaming for a nightmare. Now things are different, I need to act strong and brave in front my thane, which is all the time. It hasn't been going to well. But Alduin, I have heard too many stories of him from my mother to not cower at the mention of his name.

But that wasn't the biggest of the problems. Delphine was right, I'm not good at my duty, I don't even know what my duty is. I know it's to help my thane but I don't know how to use it. It's almost funny. My life is dedicated to one task and I still don't know how to do it. I'm so useless. I felt a tear about to come out. Don't cry, Lydia, you don't have the right.

"Hey," I feel a little warmer when my thane's hand reaches around my waist, "Don't take her too seriously" I find a little comfort in his words but not enough to reply. The door was pushed open and we were greeted by my thane's sister. I had spent a lot of time with her, but I still have trouble remembering her name. In fact, sometimes I would even pronounce my thane's name wrong, he never seems to notice though.

"Fighting the thalmor again?" My thane's sister asked

Again?

"I guess so, it's just a small errand though," he replied, "so do you guys want to leave or stay here until the morning."

"Way I see it we either stay here or go to Whiterun. The inn in Whiterun is better but-"

"Thanks," Orgnar interrupted

"But it's going to take a bit of walking before we get there." The khajiit finished, "Let's stay here, I don't want to take another step. Lydia, what do you think?"

"I will listen to what you say," my feet still hurt

"Lydia," I look up at her, "are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I try to form a smile

"Was my brother being mean to you?"

"No, not at all," it was the truth, he never mistreated me at all.

"Hmm, if he does, tell me and I'll smack him. In fact, I'll smack him right now!"

"You really don't-"

"HEY!" she called out to my thane who was almost out the door

"So close," he sighed as he came back, "What?"

I watched helplessly as his sister 'smacked' him as she put so eloquently.

"Huh," he blinked twice, "I'm not even going to ask," he turned around and left the building.

"Well, what do you think?"

"About what?" I asked

"Do you want your own room or would you rather share one?"

"This is an inn, you can't just take every room," Orgnar called

"No one else is here!" she shouted back

"ONE ROOM!" he shouted

"Fine, I'll just go read your journal to Delphine,"

"WAIT, TWO ROOMS!"

"It's really okay," I said, "let's just share a room, I promise I won't bother you."

"If you say so," she smiled as she walked into the nearest room and then came back out immediately

"Is something the matter?"

"I" she declared "am hungry!"

She bolted out the door am came back a short moment later with my thane's wallet.

* * *

**Dragonborn **

The twin moons glowed softly off the river. It was almost like as if I could reach my hand inside the water and take it out. Reminds me of the story about the monkeys and the well, I feel like I can connect to it. A guy trying to help but doesn't know how.

"The moons will be joined soon, I wonder if it will give birth to a new mane. No, probably not, it didn't happen for so long already I doubt it will now." My conversation with myself was ended abruptly as I heard the clinking the armour and footsteps of greaves. I used my sheathed sword to help myself stand but kept facing the river.

"Hail, traveller!" someone called. I turned to find a small squad of imperial officers with about four to five people. Their armour was not like the ones the imperials in skyrim bore and had an emblem of sorts on the belt and shoulders that did not match the standard imperial dragon.

"Hail, friends," I replied,

"You are addressing Centurion Cecarus Temadus, I require your assistance" The man at the front of the squad said. I would be able to understand if only imperial first names or last names end with 'us' but both ending with that sound is plain annoying.

"How can someone like me help someone like you? You look like you'd know more than me."

"You are an outsider to the village," he said bluntly, "a traveller, perhaps you have seen someone on your travels,"

"I have seen many people, who might you be looking for?" To answer, he drew a small sheet of parchment from his armour. I looked at the scribble on it, when I felt I recognised the face, I was unsure what to feel.

"Let us step into the light, I cannot see too well," the imperial merely nodded and followed me towards the nearest building. Under the torchlight I noticed that every imperial had the same symbol as the one on their breastplate on other places. May it be their gladius or their arcus, the symbol was always there. It wasn't clear, a circle… and some lines… disturbingly familiar.

"Do you recognise the face?"

"Allow me to search through my memories, it looks familiar," the picture, although badly drawn, does in fact look quite familiar. Tis a girl, that much is obvious. She looked young but tired. Her short hair was in a mess and her lip was cut. The hair was coloured in, signalling dark hair.

"Well?"

"I cannot match a name to the face."

"Well, that was a big waste of my time," with that, he turned and left with the other imperials following close behind. I noticed I still had the parchment, looks like they had more to hand around. I folded the paper and stuck it into my clothes. I was able to connect the face to a person. But the results were certainly not good news for any of us and certainly not something I would want to share with them.

Fuck


	18. Fame

**AN: This chapter doesn't really do too much for the story, but I wanted to upload something. I still need some character submissions for the dark brotherhood listener and the college of winterhold archmage. **

My thane is still nowhere to be found even after an hour after he left. Well, I suppose I shouldn't put it that way when I didn't go look for him. But still, it was unsettling how sometimes he would leave during the night without a word. He would come back the same way as before. And he does always say he is just taking a walk. There is no excuse for not trusting my thane, but it is a feeling I cannot control. Despite how he treats me well, I don't think I will never know him for long enough to let myself be vulnerable with him.

"Want more chicken?" His sister really likes my thane which probably wouldn't be the case if my thane was truly a bad person.

"No, thank you," I replied but she put some pieces of chicken on my plate nevertheless. I am still uncertain how I feel about her slapping my thane in my name, but my thane didn't seem suprises, I guess it happens a lot. Now that I think about it, my thane isn't really surprised by anything.

"So, Lydia,"

"Yes?" I put down my fork

"How long has brother been a thane?"

"Not long, it was barely a month ago when he slew the dragon and was granted the title."

"Dragons, huh?"

"Did he not tell you about them?"

"He probably mentioned dragons but I either did not pay attention or I forgot. Hmm, dragons are in a Skyrim, there is a civil war in Skyrim. Chiesk," she leaned back, "Elsweyr almost seems peaceful in comparison." Strange, it was probably the first time she has even heard of dragons, but she does not seem affected by the information. I guess it's a family thing to not care about anything.

"Are there troubles back home?"

"Oh not much," she replied, "at least not much anymore, would have stayed there if there were. Things seem way more interesting here. What are you guys travelling around for anyways? Why don't you guys find somewhere to settle down and get married?"

She came over to my side to pat my back as I choked.

"We-he-it's not-we're not"

"Woah, calm down. If you don't want to be his tokha just say so."

"Tokha?" I asked

"Wife," she translated

She pat my back as I began choking again.

* * *

It was still dark when I woke. But the position of the moons showed it would be sunrise in two or three hours. I looked at Riverwood from where I was, the windows were dark except for the inn.

When I pushed the door to the only occupied room of the inn, I found Lydia sitting up in her bed with a lit candle tightly clinched in her hand. Either she decided to wake up really early or it was like Whiterun all over again.

"Oh, hello, my thane,"

"What are you doing up at this hour? I was woken up by a branch falling on me but you have a roof to prevent that."

"I was… um… waiting for you"

"Hmm, must have waited a long time considering it's almost sunrise."

"Oh,"

"Yep"

"So, why are you actually up so early," I took a seat beside her on the bed and swung my legs over so we are in the same position.

"Nothing… I'm sure you have more important things to worry about"

"Alright, I won't push it," A piece of cheese landed on my face followed by a groggy voice saying 'shut up faggot.' I picked up the cheese and ate it. Faggot huh? That's a new word, I wonder where she got it. I take a look at my sister. Probably shouldn't ask her though, not now anyway.

"What is the plan for today," Lydia asked me

"I don't know, what do you want to do?"

"I thought you had to prepare for the thalmor embassy mission."

"I don't care much for the mission, I don't think the thalmor could possibly to related to the dragons. The thalmor are… decent mages and okay infantrymen. It is said they brought back the moons when the disappeared, not many people believe them but some do and that means something. But dragons, no the thalmor are just prey to dragons, like us."

"Does that mean you will not go?"

"I don't know. Delphine did something for me, I owe her this. I'll probably go."

"She didn't do anything," Lydia said, "she took the horn,"

"Well, she got to it first, which gave her enough right to keep the horn but she gave it to me. That doesn't matter now, we can discuss it later, you should go back to sleep."

"Yes, my thane," She retracts back into her covers and turns away from me. I lean my head back for a moment. I wish I could do more for Lydia. After I'm sure she's asleep, I exit the inn.

* * *

And so I sat at the bar counter sharing a flagon of plain river water with Orgnar. Figured drinking mead wouldn't proper in the morning but it was apparently the only drink they owned. Perhaps I should learn from my brother, and carry a small pouch of tea wherever I go. Maybe I should learn that fire spell from him too. Suddenly, a boy and a girl burst in through the door. They looked like as though they were in their early teens, perhaps twelve or thirteen. The sun just rose a short while ago, it was only six in the morning. What are they doing up?

"Can I help you?" Orgnar called

"We heard that the dragonborn is here!" The boy exclaimed

"Yeah," the girl agreed, "is he here? Can we see him?" So it begins,

"It's too early to be bothering my customers; some of them are still sleeping!" Orgnar ironically screamed. Suddenly the door to one of the rooms opened and a slice of cheese flew out hitting Orgnar on the head.

"What?" Orgnar says, "but how? I didn't even give them any cheese!"

"It's best not to ask."

I don't feel like telling them that I just so happen to be the dragonborn. I don't know what they expected. I saw an interpretation of the dragonborn painting during my travels. It was… very far off. It depicted a man sporting an iron helmet and studded armour with matching boots, a banded iron shield in one hand and a steel sword in the other. I am quite the opposite. I don't even look much like a nord. Too many times have I been mistaken for other human races. My mother stated she didn't find out what I was until she took me to a mage. All humans probably look the same to khajiits.

"When can we see the dragonborn?" The two were still here. Without much to do here, I decided on a visit to Gerdur and Hod.

* * *

"How did you get in here?" Hod demanded holding an axe. It would have been more intimidating if the axe wasn't pointed in the wrong direction.

"Damn it woman! You think I can't use this?" he swings his axe at the door frame only to miss it and fall down from the force of the swing. After a few seconds, we notice he got knocked out by the fall.

"Damn it Hod," Gerdur said,

We sat and discussed current events. She thanked me for getting the Jarl to station whiterun guards here as the dragon attacks have become more frequent. These people are pleasant enough.

"We heard that the dragons have been targeting small groups of bandits mostly. If I didn't know better I would say that the dragons are helping us." Hod said after waking up, eventually

"But still," Gerdur cut in, "it won't be long until the attacks spread to farms and caravans. Then it would only worse, to villages and maybe even cities."

Yet the imperials and stormcloaks still find the need to fight.

I don't know what I expected when I opened the door back to the inn. But it certainly was quite different than what I got.

"Good morning, my thane," that was what I heard every morning.

"YOU'RE THE DRAGONBORN!" that was not

"What are you talking about?" I pretended to ask

"Didn't you say it was him?" the boy who was unfortunately still here asked to Lydia. I looked at her with a bit of amusement but Lydia seemed a bit surprised at the direction our conversation is going.

"Umm"

"Yeah, it's you" they said without waiting for Lydia's answer. Well, I suppose if Lydia told them I can't deny anything.

"So it is," I said. The two cheered. "Why did you guys find me here?"

"Um, we heard a traveller say that a dragonborn was discovered in Whiterun." The girl said

"Yeah, he said you killed a dragon!"

"So I did," I went to take a seat beside Lydia, "Lydia, where's my sister,"

"The dragonborn has a sister!" The boy screamed

"Dragonsister!" the girl followed

"I'm right here," sister walked in

"She's a cat!"

"Catsister!" I tried to remember how I was when I was their age. Certainly not like this was my answer.

My sister was still obviously not awake as she missed the chair and fell on the floor. Lydia went to help her up but she decided that she wanted to go back to sleep.

"So," I started, "who are you two and what are you two doing here."

"Oh, we're brother and sister! We lived at the farm outside Whiterun."

"Father said we could go find you!"

"Did he now?" I wasn't buying it

"Well, he didn't say anything when we asked him so we took it for an okay."

"What was he doing when you asked him?" Two answers came to mind as I asked that question. Drinking and sleeping

"Sleeping," the girl muttered. Huzzah I was correct, but that's probably not a good thing considering my current situation.

"That doesn't matter," it did, "Now that we found you we have something to ask!" the boy said

"What could that possibly be?"

"We would like to come with you" the two said in unison

"No,"

"No?"

"No,"

"But," the girl looked like she was about to cry, "but why not,"

"Didn't you say you heard about the dragon? Almost ten trained adult city guards were slain. Would you like to join them?"

"But we can fight!" the boy drew out an iron short sword, "look, we even have weapons!"

"Listen to my thane, go home,"

"But we want to help," I guess talking won't be doing much with them.

"Tell you what, if either of you can hit me with that sword, I'll let you come, alright?" they nodded, "good, begin" The boy went first and tried to stab at me. I leaned a little to the left and it missed. The sister grew impatient and grabbed the sword from her brother's hand. She tried to slash downwards. I didn't move, and yet she missed, reminding me a little of hod from earlier.

"Why don't you guys go home and get some practice,"

"Well, I suppose we do need it" and so they left.

* * *

"My thane, I'm sorry," I found myself apologising to be the reason most of our conversations start.

My thane did not reply, he merely raised an eyebrow.

"I shouldn't have told the two children who you were."

"That wasn't a problem,"

"You seem to have not wanted them to know,"

"Well," he sighed, "I'll admit I didn't plan on people being familiar with me so soon. But I figured it might happen eventually if I stayed on this path."

"You didn't want people to know?"

"No, not really," His answer surprised me, who wouldn't want to be known as the dragonborn and be hailed through all the lands.

"Why wouldn't you want people to know? Don't you want fame throughout the province?"

"I suppose having support when I go to new places would be nice. But everyone knowing me, that would be inconvenient." I wanted to ask more but didn't want to bother him further.

"I would like to be famous one day," I said

"You don't really have a choice here now do you?" his words hurt me more than they were meant to. He was right but it really was all I ever wanted. Perhaps I should not have expected much to come out of my life. But I can't help it. "Remember what you're doing," he continued, "you're basically saving the world. You are going to be famous whether you want to or not." What?

"I- I'm just helping you," the words awkwardly escaped from my lips with me doing my best to avoid the word serve.

"We're helping each other. Takes a lot of teamwork to save the world, let's just do what we can alright?"

It was still relatively early in the morning when we finished preparing to leave. We didn't pack much; we brought only three bedrolls and some simple utility supplies such as lockpicks and… that's pretty much it. Everything managed to fit into the packs of my thane and his sister. I asked to carry one but the khajiit claimed I was the only one in heavy armour which I couldn't argue with. It was probably heavier than two of my thane's sisters.

"You still haven't left" Delphine suddenly appeared

"What's the rush?" the khajiit asked

"What's the rush? The dragons are returning and we need to stop them as soon as possible."

"By breaking into a thalmor embassy? I've doing this for you Delphine," my thane replied

"You!" she pointed at my thane, "are the dragonborn. Your life is meant to be used to stop the return of the dragons. That is why you exist, you cannot ignore your destiny." I felt angry all of a sudden. She just said my thane's only purpose is to stop the dragons. No, that can't be true, he did so much already.

"Is your destiny to be this annoying?" my thane simply asked, "let's leave,"

Delphine was silent as we made it out of the inn

* * *

By the late afternoon, we had made it to Rorikstead, which we decided to be our only stop on the way to Solitude. Despite not wanting to go along with Delphine's mission, my thane said he should nevertheless. His sister already decided she would spend her time at Solitude, they still didn't know what to do with me.

"Delphine is right about one thing. Having more than one person will cause this quest to be a lot harder."

"But-But the thalmor! What if they spot you, what is there's a battle?" I argued with my thane

"Well, either I win or I lose then,"

"What would happen if you lose?" I quickly spoke again, "I'm not saying you will lose but there will be many thalmor there."

"Well, I die,"

"MY THANE!"

"I'll be fine, I just need to sneak into a thalmor base, avoid all two hundred of the thalmor guards, avoid around eighty justicars and every servant. I'll be fine,"

"My thane,"

"Don't worry he'll be fine," the khajiit suddenly spoke up

"MY THANE'S SISTER!"

"Just calm down," she purred. My breathing slowly went back to normal.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have talked back to my superiors. My thane I- … My thane?"

Oh

Where is he now?

This happens every time


	19. Information

**So when I write this, it's usually saved to an external hard drive because my computer breaks a lot and usually I end up losing everything. It was a pretty good idea at first since it saved me when my computer hard drive broke. But now I see the problem with my plan, as my external hard drive is in another country. I'm not very smart. So basically I randomly wrote this so I have something to upload, sorry, it's not that good. **

* * *

Rorikstead is mostly a calm place. However, it has little defences and is vulnerable to attacks from both bandits and dragons. Should a dragon decide to start burning villages, this one might be first on the list. Some villagers have claimed that the little farming town hasn't had a bad harvest in years. Well, dragons haven't been around for years either.

But none of that concerns me. The only thing on my mind is how the thalmor embassy will play out.

"Well, if you don't want him to go I suppose you can go."

"What?" I asked, 'twas such a strange proposition. I wasn't the one who received the mission. Housecarls are supposed to run errands for their thanes but this is no errand.

"I mean think about it," she said, "You are not outstanding to the thalmor but my brother has been their enemy since at least decade back. You have a bit more to lose if you go"

"I thought-

The door opened with a light creak

"Hello," before the door was fully open, my thane was hit by a flying shoe

"Out!" his sister announced, "girls only!"

"Okay fine, I'll just eat your lunch then," he turns with a sly smirk, "I wonder if I can really finish all this salmon by myself,"

"Wait WAIT WAIT!" I was left alone in the tavern room as the khajiit girl went to chase after my thane with only one shoe on. Sometimes I wonder if many families were as lively as this one. No, no probably not, this one's definitely unique.

* * *

I painfully limped back to the tavern room with a sack of salmon slices. Stupid brother, stupid table legs, damn my toe hurts. I reached for the doorknob but the door opened before my hand made contact with it.

"Oh, hello mistress," Lydia is so drustating, I mean there's nothing wrong with her but she acts like as though there is.

"Thanks," I slipped myself inside and dropped the sack on the drawer right before dropping myself onto the bed.

"Hey," Lydia said, "you alright?"

"Hm," I flashed an arrogant smirk, "I'm fine," my face grew serious for a moment, "how about you?"

"Me? W-what do you mean?"

"Nothing, I guess," I sighed, "you just sounded kind of, down"

"I'm… quite alright,"

"Hey, come on now," I sat up, "when you say it like that I gotta ask what's up."

"I guess, I've just been thinking about your brother a lot," she took a look at my Cheshire smile, "no, not like that."

"Mm, like what then?" this is getting more interesting by the second

"I guess, being a housecarl just isn't what I expected."

"What do you think you are missing then?" Does she want to get closer to my brother?

"I don't know," thanks Lydia, "Maybe it's because he never asks me to do anything. I just don't feel like he's my thane."

"Honestly, I don't think you should. Don't think of my brother as your thane, that just makes it harder for the both of you to take your relationship to the next level."

"That's not really what I-"

"But I know why the first part would be a problem," I cut her off, "it's not fair for him to have all the fun, is it? How about you just go the thalmer thing for him?"

"I- but- Are you sure?"

"Why not?"

"Do you think he trusts me enough to go in his stead?"

"Definitely, if he doesn't, I'm sure you can… convince him."

"And secondly, do you think I can do it?" she completely ignores my perverted implication

"Tsk, sorry Lyd, I can't answer that. Only one person can."

* * *

It was probably three to four hours after sunset. Most folk are now resting, yet my company have just started the third meal of the day. The tavernkeeper was not happy about having to start up the fire for three people but his mood was increased when we ordered enough for ten people. By the time Lydia and I picked up our cutlery, Ka'itria was halfway through everything on the table.

"Mm?"

"Yes?"

"Mmm mm mMMMm,"

"Ka'itria?"

"Mm?"

"Swallow your food first, Ka'tria"

"Ok, there I'm done, as I was saying-"

"You weren't saying anything, you were just making sounds with a mouthful of food,"

"Shut up, anyways, so I have this idea, you know that thalmor embassy mission?"

"Probably, I was there,"

"How about we have Lydia go instead?" Lydia tensed and directed her gaze onto me

"That's an idea," I looked around for fish and realised there was none left, well I suppose the fact that it was finished so quickly meant my cooking is not that bad.

"I'd say your cooking is 2/10 but the quality of the fish made it for it" Can I just be happy for 1 second?

"My thane?"

"Hello," I replied

"If you would ask it of me, I would be more than glad to oblige"

"Did you two talk about this before?" it seemed like a simple question yet it took forever to answer. I don't think this is going to end up too well.

"Yeah, we both thought it was a good idea," Lydia looked a little nervous at what she said

"Ok, sounds good," I leant back to and took a sip from my drink so I won't have to look at their expressions.

Something told me tonight was going to be a little complicated. Sister told me not to leave the inn tonight and for some reason I agreed. It would have been fine if the room had another bed, but there were only two in total and sister was already sprawled across the other one.

Well, I guess I don't really have to listen to her. I can just back away slowly and-

"Mm, get back here"

"I thought you were sleeping"

"Trying to," she grumbled, "but it's too hot with the blanket and too cold without them." She began struggling against the blankets until exactly half of her body was covered.

"Ah, much better," she began snoring

"Well good night," I sat beside my sister and began lowering myself to the bed

"RAWR" she suddenly jumped up and bit me in the shoulder

"FUCK!" I jumped up and when I looked back she was asleep again. I wiped some blood off my shoulder with my hand

"Mind if we share a bed?"

"Not at all my thane," she seemed as fazed as I was by the experience.

"mmm… beef," mumbled my sister. Perhaps I should be worried that she comes to eat me in my sleep.

* * *

My thane is asleep but I'm not even close. I don't even know what's keeping me from sleeping, there's this so much going on that I'm not even sure what I'm thinking about. Wait what? Mm, maybe if I just change my position. I turn a over so that I'm on my side and my head is laying on my thane's shoulder. The elevation my head gained actually makes me more comfortable. But it gains something else, I get a view of the inside of my thane's outer shirt and notice a corner of paper out of place. I'm not supposed to go through my thane's belongings but the sudden curiosity took hold of me as I reached for the paper and pulled it out.

My breathing stops and time freezes, or is it going back? My hands begin shaking and put the paper back. I can't, I don't, what do I do know?

Without knowing what I'm doing, I grab my sword and run out the tavern door.


	20. Relapse

**It really has been a while hasn't it? Gee, I'd really hate disappointing my fans by posting so slowly, good thing I don't have any fans. On a related note, here's a joke. When it's hot I'm a fan of a fan... I'm sorry**

**Anyways, this is actually one variant of this chapter. The next chapter will have the same name but a different ending. The other chapter was actually the original one, but I decided to write and use this variant of the chapter instead. The next chapter wouldn't make this storyline go any further, but I suggest reading it nevertheless. In fact, I like that chapter better than this chapter, I really do, I just don't know how to follow it. But if anyone thinks I should try to continue the storyline of the next chapter, I will try my best and maybe write it into a new story. **

**If you have read my profile you will know that I can only write properly when I am high. Send weed**

* * *

**Lydia POV**

I draw my sword and look into the forest. I can't control what I'm thinking about but my mind is running faster than ever. I hear a voice in my head. Or is it just me thinking? I don't know.

_Every tree, _the voice says, _is a person that betrayed you. _Without thinking, I slash at a tree. _A person that took advantage of you. _Another strike. _A person that used you. _Before I knew it, I was panting, my arm was sore, my sword was ruined and the tree was destroyed. _Not bad, you got rid of one of them. But look- _I followed the voice into the rest of the forest, looking at the seemingly endless number of trees, _there are so many left._ I collapse… and I shatter.

I awaken to the soft breathing of the room and gentle rising of the sun. I close my eyes and try to go back to sleep, but then I realise. There was only one set of breathing. I shoot up and see Lydia missing. The second place my eyes scan is Lydia's belonging. I notice that her sword is not there.

I try to think of other things that are different and feel something in my shirt. I reach my hand and pull out the paper I got from the imperial stranger. It looks mostly the same and I almost put it back when I realised one thing, the corner was a little wrinkled.

Fuck

* * *

**Mayisha POV**

I rush out of the tavern despite not knowing what to do or say. I'll probably figure it out on the way, that always works. Maybe we'll talk and everything will be settled, but nothing is ever that easy, is it? Well, I suppose I'm the only one to blame for this mess I got us into.

I jumped up from my bed and checked my body for blueberries. After careful investigation, I realised that it was probably a dream and fire monkeys probably don't exist. A quick look out the windows tells me that it's still almost sunrise. Damn, where did these people go? Brother sometimes wake up early but Lydia usually sleeps until daybreak at least. Mm, maybe there's a clue somewhere.

I hear some battle cries and clashing of steel in the distance.

Well I suppose that's a clue.

I tried to stay positive and think about how this might not be a bad situation. For example, they might just be training, practicing a play, having rough sex- actually I'm not going to go there.

Another swing of her blade, I manage to duck again but I'm not sure how many more I could dodge before getting skewered. She was a better swordswoman than she let off. Or perhaps it was because of the raw anger in her strikes. I duck the next strike but instead of swinging again, she kicks me with the back of her heel.

My line of sights tries to straighten itself as I stand back up. I shouldn't take another hit like-

Donk

And I've ran my head into a tree branch. If this was any other time, I would have laughed. Too bad it's not any other time right now. Perhaps I should have brought a weapon to help defend myself until I sort out the situation, no that would have made it worse.

"Lydia, calm down, it's not what you think," what the fuck is wrong with me? Did Lydia catch me cheating on her? Think, say something else

"DON'T EVEN TRY THAT," she growled more than spoke, "I knew exactly what I saw, I've been looking at it for THIRTEEN YEARS!" Thirteen years, what is she talking about? It looks like I've made a bigger mistake than I can understand. They were just a group of imperial soldiers weren't they? Now that I think about it, the girl in the picture looked younger than the one trying to take off my head

"There's been a misunderstanding! I'm not your enemy, whatever you think this is is wrong!"

"The only thing I was wrong about is trusting you," She grabbed me by the collar and pinned me to a tree. I could get a better look at her face now. There were tears, and pain, so much pain. I feel… guilty, was this my fault? This was a misunderstanding after all but it could have easily been avoided if I was more careful. There's no one else to blame, is there?

The tip of the blade enters my vision. Can I disarm her? It would be difficult to do so. Is this how I'm to die? If I die Lydia will never forgive me.

"Lydia…" I begin

"No," she suddenly said, letting me go, "no, no, no. You're my thane, I have to obey you don't I." she staggered backwards as though drunk, I try to help her up but she smacks away my hand. She held her head and genuinely looked as though in pain. I tried to reach out my hand to her once more but her sword quickly replied.

"Get away from me," she said through her teeth. Her sword-hand started shaking more and more until her sword eventually fell to the ground. "I can't fight you, I swore an oath. I have to obey, I have to- No, no I won't let you take me." In a sudden rush of concentration she drew her steel dagger but she wasn't going to attack me with it, she was trying to save herself from me the other way. I wasn't going to let that happen.

I jumped forward and grabbed the dagger. She wasn't about let go of it and neither was I. Instead of taking it, I pressed it against my throat and my body to hers.

"Let go of it, LET IT GO!"

"I'm on your side Lydia."

"NO ONE IS ON MY SIDE!"

"Let go of the blade, Lydia. We can still talk about this, come back to the inn with me and-"

"I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE WITH YOU, but-but we can talk. Sure, let's talk." Just like that she dropped down the ground and hugged her legs to her chest. She was exhausted, that much was obvious. I sat in front of her. I made an attempt to take her weapon away but she quickly drew it away from me. I raised my hands in forfeit, I had to try at least.

"Explain yourself," she demanded through her teeth

"I take it this is because of the picture," she slowly nodded, "I saw someone the other day, an imperial. He asked me if I saw a face like this one."

"What did you say?"

"I said I'll tell him when I see it." No point lying here. She sighed at what I said.

"I guess, you already know it's me," it was my turn to nod, "are you going to tell them?"

"No,"

"This, all of this, this is the truth?"

"It is,"

"Can you prove it?"

"No,"

"Then why should I believe you?"

"I don't have anything to back up what I just said. But you'll have to trust me. Do you trust me, Lydia?"

She seemed to fall on top of me. She let me take her weapon and put it in my sheath. She just leaned on me silently. She's still not saying anything, but she doesn't need to. I was unsure what to do until she began shaking her head.

"No," she said, her voice soft but cracking, "I can't trust anyone. I can't trust anyone." She kept repeating that phrase but it became quieter each time gradually it was less than a whisper and eventually, it was silence.

"Alright, that's ok," my hand began to stroke her hair, she stiffened at my touch but relaxed almost instantly, "you don't have to trust me. But I trust you, Lydia. I just thought you should know that."

"Ok," she was clinging onto me now

She let me carry her back to the inn. I think she was too tired to keep fighting me. I sustained… minor injuries but that doesn't matter too much. The innkeeper was nowhere to be seen but the candles kept the hall lit. I opened the door to find my sister sitting up on her bed.

"Where were-" she began talking but I quickly shushed her. She moved to protest until she saw Lydia.

"What happened?" she whispered

"I'll fill you in, help me get Lydia to bed," she quickly lift up her own covers so that I could put Lydia under it. She pulled a few buckles and her armour slid off. She had to move her around a bit to take the armour off but Lydia was heavy enough a sleeper.

I opened the door and signalled for her to go out. We took a seat on a bench and I began explaining the situation.


	21. Tragedy (read AN)

**This is not a separate chapter, this is actually the original version of the previous chapter. I wrote this one first, but I couldn't continue writing this version, I just didn't know how to. But I decided to post it anyways just because. However, if anyone thinks I just continue this version, or at least try to. Just tell me, maybe I'll write a separate story following this path. Once again, try your best to enjoy whatever I wrote here. **

* * *

**Third Person**

She shouts again and swings her blade again, cutting off the branch in one hit. Do I really want to go in right now? Is that really the best idea? Maybe I should be giving her time alone. But then again, I'm just making excuses for myself right now, aren't I. I take a breath and begin walking… I am going to die here. ==

"Lydia," he says. It takes her a while to look his way, but when she does, she jumps back immediately. Brandishing her weapon, she takes a fighting stance towards me. He lifts up his arms in an act of submission, but Lydia's stance does not drop.

"You…"

"Lydia…"

"My… _thane,_" the emphasis on the word thane causes Mayisha to take a step back

"Lydia please,"

"I trusted you, did you know that?" a look of pain flashes over her complexion but it's quickly replaced by anger, "how could you do this to me?"

"I didn't do anything-"

"You did everything! You lied to me, you hurt me and now you're trying to capture me!"

"I'm not, I'm really not I promise. It's just a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?" she smiles, "oh, I'm sorry, is this not yours?" she takes out her evidence and thrusts it into her thane's face

"Please," she says again, "enlighten me on how you just happen to find it lying around,"

"It's- mine, I guess,"

"It's yours?" she feigns surprise, her thane takes another step back the housecarl immediately takes one step forward

"Lydia, please calm down, this isn't like that,"

Lydia shouts and finally swings her blade. Her thane ducks but the blade leaves a short cut on his face nevertheless.

"What is it like then?" she asks, "TELL ME!" she pulls the steel sword back and thrusts it forward. The other nord jumps back in an attempt to dodge, but the sword pokes into his abdomen. He tries walk backwards out of it but Lydia follows until he hits the tree. She keeps the blade in place, not letting it out but not pushing it any deeper.

"A few guys came and gave me this, they asked me if I knew the person on it,"

"What did you say?"

"I said no,"

"All of this is true?"

"I promise,"

Lydia considers her position. She has grown to enjoy her thane's company and does not want to believe that he is an enemy. Although, Lydia is still finding it hard to truly trust anyone at this point.

* * *

**Mayisha POV**

"I don't believe you,"

"What can I do-"

"Nothing… but I don't want to fight you," she drops her sword, Ma'yisha carefully walks towards her. After what felt like years, he finally stands face to face with his housecarl, his hand slowly raises and cups her cheek into it. It seem things were finally looking up. But of course, nothing is that easy.

"Well, here's a face I wasn't expecting to see,"

Oh piss, out of all the times he could have appeared. Lydia and I turn to face the imperial. He just ruined everything that I have just done.

"Why are you here?" I ask

"Oh, no reason, just taking a walk, looks like it was good that I did after all," from the look of him and his battalion I doubt it was just a walk. Were they following me? I guess my lie was kind of obvious, but I didn't think they'd waste so much effort tracking me down. That's not the biggest worry right now, I guess. I reluctantly look to see how Lydia is feeling, huh, not so good, surprising.

"My thane," she angrily asks

"Yes, Lydia?"

"Why are they here?"

"I don't know,"

Lydia picks up her sword

"I recognise their armour,"

"I see you have found her after all, so I must admit, I almost didn't recognise her at first,"

"You promised me,"

"I wasn't lying,"

"How much money do you want for her?"

"YOU PROMISED ME!" Lydia screams

"I'm on your side!"

"YOU'RE TRYING TO SELL ME! Do you know what I went through? They held me for over ten years!" she kicks her dropped sword into her hand and holds it to my throat, "you said you were on my side,"

"I am," I say quietly, careful not to move

"You're lying," she says that, but she drops her sword anyways, "but I can't kill you. You're my thane, I can't do it."

The imperials were walking towards us. They have… six, seven people? Not that many, but I'm unarmed and I don't think Lydia will fight.

"Come with me, we can get away," I try to grab her arm but she jerks away from me

"YOU'RE NOT TAKING ME ANYWHERE," she looks to the imperials and then back to me, it must look to her like her enemies are closing in on her from both sides

"No one is taking me anywhere," she takes a deep breath and closes her eyes

"Lydia," I say in almost a whisper

"I've been running this whole time, I shouldn't have known I wouldn't have gotten away, not this easily," she raises her sword to her own throat

"LYDIA!" I scream, but too late. The next moments feel surreal. I don't know if time is moving faster or slower. But I know that one moment, the sword drops to the ground covered in blood. The next moment, I'm also on the ground, holding Lydia's form and desperately trying to keep the crimson liquid from spilling out. After that I'm looking around me, the landscape is shaking and I can only hear a dim ringing sound in my ear, it feels like the world has ended.

I look up and see… people? It must be people.

"AAAAAAAAAAA!" a scream, was it from me? "YOU BASTARDS!"

* * *

**Third Person**

Mayisha picks himself up from the ground and charges at the offenders. Two of them raise a crossbow but a shout easily blows back the bolts and knocks down the archers. He jumps onto a nearby tree and uses the momentum to launch himself back at the targets. He lands onto one footman and the force knocks off his helmet. The thane eagerly takes advantage of situation and digs his fingers into the man's eye sockets. The imperial screams and flails about but when the fingers finally pull out from his skull, his eyeballs were already in the Norseman's hand. He stands up and takes a look at the rest of the squad. There were six left, including their leader, and they walk around to surround him with their shields up. The usually quiet fighter lets out a feral roar and pounces at the closest enemy.

His weight immediately knocks the legionary to the ground who desperately tries to raise his shield as he wildly claws at the steel armour. The others react quickly and begin attacking. However, he manages to evade every attack all the whilst not letting up his assault until a stab going for his abdomen is caught before reaching its mark. The blade begins to cut into his hand, but he doesn't notice and only grabs it tighter before ripping it out of the imperial's grasp. With his other arm, he spins and punches him in the jaw, the clanging of his helmet ringing through the forest.

He responds to the next attack with a low roundhouse, effectively breaking the imperial's knee and sending him to the ground. Three left.

The two soldiers attack while their superior examines the situation. But it has been long enough, and the dragonborn is capable of shouting again, which he wastes no time doing. The pair is knocked to the ground and he runs his sword in through the legionary's groin area and twists it until the screaming subsides. The last imperial tries to bash with his shield but he catches it and it turns quickly into a competition of strength with the two sides pushing at each other. Soon, the wood breaks and the two tumble onto each other. The legionary immediately acts by pulling out his pugio and stabbing down at the dragonborn. The short blade easily cuts into his unarmoured flesh but it doesn't faze him at all, instead he grabs the imperial by the neck and forces him onto the bottom. Punching him once to disorient him, he grabs a chunk of flesh from his neck and tears and it out.

* * *

**Mayisha POV**

What is this I'm feeling, is this… anger? I haven't felt it in a long time, but right now I can't feel anything else. I want nothing else than to destroy these in front of me.

I tear at the one below me, doing whatever I can to ensure his death. Finally, my arms are covered in red and there is a chunk of something in my hand, do I stand up. I see the last soldier, the centurion, the one responsible… for… this tragedy.

He raises his shield and readies his gladius

I should be pleased that he'd still like to fight, but I don't feel pleased, just anger. I pull the pugio from my shoulder and take a stance.

"WAAALIAAAAAA!" the ancient khajiit battlecry, looks like I'm going back to my roots

I sprint with nothing but him in my vision and nothing but my goal in sight.

His lifts his shield as I strike with the short-blade, which bounces off harmlessly. He stabs over his shield, but the size of my knife allows me to move quickly enough to slash at his extended arm. It doesn't cut him, but it cuts off the straps of his arm guard. Growling, I begin circling around him. His mouth opens and moves, but I don't hear what he says. In fact, I can't hear anything over my own screaming.

I charge him again, and dropkick his shield away. During our recovery phase, I grab some dirt off the ground and throw it towards it. The dirt briefly removes his focus and I get the chance to get close enough and punch him directly into the face. Unfortunately, his helmet's faceguard protects his head from any damage but it knocks him off his feet and he drops his imperial short sword. Unexpectedly, he is focused enough to kick me off him and grab my neck. The lack of air threatens me but my raw anger keeps me focused. With the pugio I still had, I dig it into the top of his arm and drag it down creating a gash from his shoulder to his wrist. The pain of the cut makes him release me and I take no time head-butting him. My own blood rings down my face from the impact with his helmet and threatening to fog my vision. I wipe it away and walk towards him. As soon as I'm in range, I begin clawing and ripping my way through his armour and his flesh. Soon his face is in my hands.

**Why have you done this?!** I scream

**Who sent you?!** I scream questions and insults for a while longer before realising I am screaming in Ta'agra and that I have already torn his head from the rest of his body, the only thing the neck was connected to was some bits of gore and a small portion of his spine.

With my anger finally realised, I walk back to the source of all this.

"Lydia," I cradle her lifeless form in my arms

"Lydia, I'm sorry" I repeat as I hold her tighter, my hands are still covered in blood and entrails and I'm dirtying her beautiful face because of it

How dare I?

But I don't care about that right now

I don't care about anything else right now

This was my fault

"Lydia, I'm so sorry,"


	22. Obliviate

**Did anyone do anything for the Lunar new year? I went back to the countryside to visit my family, saw about 30-40 people, didn't recognise any of them. Fortunately all of them recognised me. The celebrations made me realise how lost of touch I am with Chinese culture, I don't really mind though, all these traditions seem bothersome. Anyways, happy new years to everyone reading this.**

* * *

**Pov: Assassin **

He grabbed my hand and held it behind my back. I spun my sword around and stabbed behind me, but he was quick enough to take a step back so that the point just barely misses him. I try to stab at him again until his free hand grabbed my elbow followed by a loud crack and resonated through the air.

I grabbed my arm and stumbled forward dropping my sword in the process, the pain finally kicking in. It felt like lightning running up my arm and through the rest of my body. I began to notice my heartbeat more.

A hand grabbed the front of my armour; I moved my uninjured hand to grab it. However, I felt the cold steel of my own sword against the back of my knees. I couldn't react fast enough and the sword cut through both my legs.

His hand pushed me forward and I easily fell onto my back. The pain in my arm and legs was making it hard to concentrate. My view was foggy and time felt slow. But I did notice my opponent's hand on my body again. I quickly reacted and grabbed it but he didn't respond. I let go of his wrist. There was nothing else I could have done, he won.

"-SO JUST GO TO SLEEP OK?" I finished. The khajiit didn't seem to understand everything I said but she probably got the main idea. I feel guilty about raising my voice at her but I don't think she minds and she probably wouldn't have heard me if I didn't. She would probably thank me later for preventing her from doing something she would regret anyways.

"Will you tell me a story then?" I sighed, but this was much better than what would have happened otherwise.

She raised both her arms, I was confused at first but then realised she wanted me to hold her. When I went to lay beside her she grabbed my torso immediately and leaned her head on my chest. I suppose I don't mind taking care of my thane's sister for him.

I fluffed the pillow a little and put in between my back and the bed's backboard.

"Once upon a time-" I began

A pair of hands ran along my body, at first I was unsure why and then I realised he wanted the contract.

"Left breast," I weakly said. I saw him nod

He took the sword and brought it near my skin, I cringed but when he stopped the blade between the armour and my skin perfectly. He pulled out the contract and read through it.

"Do you know-" I shook my head, it's not a mystery what he wants to know

"Disappointing," he sighed pulling out a bottle of ale and taking a drink, "want some?"

I shrugged

"Here," he raised the bottle to my lips and I took a sip. I let the liquid sit in my mouth a little to get the full taste before swallowing.

"Last words?" he asked casually, "last requests? Maybe talking to a family member? Well, I suppose the dark brotherhood is your family, and I'll be seeing them soon won't I? Do you still keep contact with your parents? Are they still back in Black Marsh? I heard it's quite lovely over there."

"You fight like me," I commented before he got more off topic. I didn't lie, that's how he won. He was a nord, I expected him to be the sort who honour meant something to.

"Considering you're a dark sister, I'll take that as a compliment,"

"The brotherhood won't stop coming for you, they'll keep sending people until you die. We don't give up on contracts and we'll use every brother we have until we complete the deal. But… if you can find who sent the contract and kill them, the contract will be invalid."

"Thanks," he nodded, "you're a brilliant fighter, I wish we could have met in different circumstances. We could have taken on anyone. Think about it, absolutely invincible."

I closed my eyes, invincible, that's a good thought. I felt the bottle against my lips again and I took one more sip. The cool liquid running down my throat calmed me as I prepared to finally meet my dread father. The last thing I remember feeling the sword, but for some reason I felt no pain. In fact, I felt peace I've never felt before.

* * *

**Pov: Ka'itricia**

"What happens next, Lydia?"

"I guess you'll just have to find out next time, get some sleep now."

"Aww, alright," her body slid down into the covers but not letting go of me. I reach my arm onto the nightstand until I feel the candle and pinch the flame.

"Goodnight, Lydia,"

"Goodnight," she mumbled something else but I couldn't hear her

I feel good about myself. I don't know why though

* * *

**Pov: Dragonborn**

"I'm back," Orgnar looked up from the counter

"I like your bloodstains,"

I looked around the tavern and realised that now it was night, there are actually people here.

"Orgnar do you sell clay… clay cups, pots, tiny urns?"

"I think I have some here," Orgnar reached down the counter and pulled out a chunk of clay, "take it,"

"Why does an inn have clay?" I kneaded the clay, it's still wet, must be new

He shrugged, "Forgot"

I went into a room and filled a bowl with water. Removing my bracers, I began molding the clay. Skyrim is getting hostile towards me, I might need these. The other ingredients I can get from khajiit caravans and alchemy stores, it's been a while since I've made one though.

* * *

**Pov: Lydia**

"Lydia, wake up," I woke up to a khajiit shaking me, I'm thankful for that. Sleeping was terrifying last night.

"Were you having a bad dream?" she asked _Yes, of course I was_

"No,"

"Alright, looks like it's morning. My head hurts but we better leave."

"I'm surprised you woke up this early, mistress, you had quite a night,"

"Can you not call me mistress? That sounds sexual, if you want to make a go at me go ahead but hurry up,"

"Sorry," I choked a little at her straightforwardness

"What happened last night?"

"I-" I almost told her the truth, close one, "nothing really, you got kind of drunk, I told you a story and we went to bed,"

"Ah, yes, I remember the story! It was one of the best ones I've heard; you've got to finish it one day."

"As you wish,"

"I feel like that wasn't it though,"

"What do you mean?" _Shit_

"I think I… oh god, did I try to rape you Lydia?"

_Yes, _"No, of course not," I said, "why would you think that?"

"Oh, good good, I thought I-, LYDIA, there's claw marks on your neck I tried to rape you didn't I,"

"You might have tried to make an advance on me a little,"

"Oh, I'm so sorry Lydia," she hung her head, "I always get that way when I get drunk, I thought I'd be better now." I feel guilty despite having done nothing wrong. Why do I feel guilty? This khajiit is front of me pretty much tried to rape me and I feel like it's my fault.

"It's okay, really,"

"You're so nice Lydia," she leaned over and hugged me, what a 'touchy' person.

* * *

**Pov: Dragonborn**

I took another bite out of my bread

"Where'd you get that bread?" Orgnar asked

"I don't know,"

"DRAGONBORN!"

"Good morning, Delphine,"

"What are you still doing here?" I looked at my bread and back to Delphine

"I think I might be eating breakfast, I'm not sure though,"

"You should have left for Solitude long ago,"

"Too far,"

"It's two days at most by carriage," I smiled on the inside, what a perfect situation

"You're right, but we don't have the travel expenses."

"You- you-, eeeeeerrrrgh. Fine, I'll pay for you,"

"Hehehe,"

"SHUT UP ORGNAR"

"How nice of you, Delphine,"

"Cut the shit and get out of here," she said tossing me a bag of gold,

"Have a good day you two," there's one problem out of the way, now onto the next one.

* * *

**Pov: Lydia**

I picked up the torso section of my steel armour, but before I put it on I felt a touch that made me jump.

"What's that Lydia?" my scar. No, please, drop it. This day was going perfectly, Let's forget about this for now, please, Ka'itricia.

"It's nothing," drop it

"That looks pretty bad Lydia, how'd you get it?"

"It doesn't matter, it was an accident," drop it drop it drop it drop it

"That doesn't look natural, Lydia. It looks like someone did this to-"

"SHUT UP KATRICIA!" I covered my mouth with my hands immediately but it was too late. An archer can take back his arrow about as much as I can take back my words. Her expression makes me feel like I might as well have shot her with one. I can't keep doing this to my thane and his company. I can't let my past keep getting in the way of the present.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry," she said, with wide eyes and a trembling lip, "a warrior like you must have a lot of scars right? It's only normal."

I nod lightly

"Come on, let's go find my brother,"

Later

"Lydia?"

"…"

"Lydia?"

"Hm?" I broke from my trance

"Do you… hate me?"

"I- no of course,"

"You… didn't say anything for the whole way here. Are you still mad at me?"

"I'm not mad at you."

"Sometimes I mind other people's business too much and bother them. I lost a lot of friends because of my personality. I don't want to lose you, Lydia, I really like you. I don't want you to stop being my friend."

"I'm not mad at you, promise," _friend_

"Friends?"

"Okay,"

She smiles brightly and hugs me. I'm too distracted to hug back completely but I rub the back of her head mildly. It encourages her and she squeezes me tighter.


	23. Scars

**AN: I asked myself why I'm still writing this. The answer I came up with was: I have no clue. Well, until next time, my friends. Enjoy... whatever this is**

**In the pov's M refers to the dragon, K refers to his sister and L refers to the housecarl**

* * *

**Pov: M**

I meet my sister and Lydia between Riverwood and Whiterun.

"Hello," I say

"Good morning my thane," Lydia greets

"OH MY GOD BROTHER, ARE YOU GOING TO WHITERUN? ARE WE GOING TO HAVE TO GO BACK? RAAARGH!" my sister greets… I guess

She screams and slumps into my arms

"Well, since we're going to Solitude, I figured we'd just take the carriage. I managed to get the money out of Delphine."

"Yay, carriage!" my sister cheered, immediately forgetting that she was upset

Later

I flip through another page of the book I stole from Delphine. It was less than interesting but it was nice to have something to occupy my time with. In fact, it was mostly description of old imperial artefacts with strange additions of the narrator's personal life. It was like a mix between a research journal and a first person novel. Hmm, I wonder what the title is, despite reading it for a while, I never bothered to check. Oh, it's Delphine's dairy… oops. I guess if I pretend if I didn't take it, she'll blame it on Orgnar.

Beside me was my sister telling her entire life story to Lydia. Her telling of her stories, despite being hardly anywhere near the actual events, brought a nostalgic feeling to me. I closed my eyes and listened to her talk about our childhood. Finally opening my eyes again, I take a good look at my sister, her bright eyes, smiling face and perky ears. It's like as though no time passed at all.

"So and then that didn't work either, because the duck was already inside the water. Sister and I ended up having to go back to town to look for…" I could listen to her talk like this for hours

Lydia seemed kind of upset, not because of the storytelling though. I didn't want to talk to her about it though. I can't help, that's not what I'm good at.

* * *

**Pov: L**

It is the middle of the night but I just can't sleep. The horse is sleeping, the driver is sleeping, my thane is probably sleeping and Ka'tricia is curled up right beside me. I kneel beside her sleeping body. I have an urge to just go into the bedroll but I can't. I feel guilty from this morning, I hurt her and I have to fix it. It's going to take a lot of courage; more than when the bandits raided and we held the shieldwall, more than when I had to shoot the criminal holding the knife to the guard and more than when I escaped my last life, if I could call it one. I'm going to tell her how I got my scar.

I sighed and tried to relax my body

My hand reached forward and shook her

She turns around in a drowsy state but smiles when she sees me

"Hi, Lydia, is it breakfast yet?"

"Do you have some time? Right now?"

"I- well, of course Lydia. What's up?"

I sigh again and let myself slump back into a sitting position

"Do you… still want to know about my scar?"

I see her expression perk up with surprise and then nods slowly. She sits up slowly so we are face to face.

"Would you like to see it?"

She nods and I lift up my tunic and allow her to touch it. She moves delicately, her fur barely making contact.

"It wasn't an accident," I say, she nods again

"It's a brand, how did you get it?"

"I was… owned" now that I've said it, there's no going back

* * *

**Pov: K**

"It started when I was nine,"

"Lydia you don't have to-" she reacts quickly and stops me

"We were h-having… financial issues; it was a year after my father died"

"There was no way we could have survived on our own," she continues after a pause

I thought she was finished, but I was wrong

"He offered my mother to let me be their servant, 'sweep the floor and do the dishes and that all that stuff' he said," she smiles sarcastically, "it seemed like a good idea, but when I got there… I- I" her voice cracks more

I don't let her continue, we'll save that for another time. I pounce on her and squeeze her head into my chest.

"I don't know how I made it so long by myself," she says,

"But that doesn't matter now!" I say immediately, "you're not alone now."

"Ka'itricia?"

"You have me!" I grab her shoulders and stare straight into her eyes, "you are never going to have to go through anything alone again. I will always be there with you

"I-"

"I will be with you through everything you have to go through," I declared, determination replacing my sadness, "it won't happen any other way, I WON'T ALLOW IT!"

"I- I-, thank you Ka'itricia," she embraced me aggressively, "thank you so much,"

I don't know how I managed to smile at a time like this

* * *

**Pov: M**

I watch as the scene unfolds below me. I sidestep to my right on the tree branch to get to the thicker part of the branch. I sit back and lean my back against the tree. It would take a true heartless person to not cry.

I touch my cheeks

Dry

How fitting

I lean my head back, allowing the next day to approach.

* * *

**Pov: K**

Solitude approached quickly and my brother hands the money to the carriage rider. I don't think he noticed the money I took from him yet.

He gives me a glare

Ok, maybe he noticed. Then I feel something tugging at my arm.

"Something up?" I ask Lydia

"Don't tell my thane about-" she pauses momentarily, "about what I told you ok?"

"Oh about- yes I see. Sure, I promise I won't."

"Thank you. I don't… want him to know."

Oh, what a depressing thought, to be afraid to tell people about your past which you had no control over. What a terrible world we live in.

We enter Solitude with no problems, from the guards. The city looked like as though it was celebrating something with all the colours and fancy flags. It was like as though they don't even know about the civil war going on outside. I suppose it would be nice to forget about all the problems happening around. But I guess no matter how hard we try, we can't just will them to disappear.

"Where did Delphine say to find the high elf?" I asked

"Um, I think it was a wood elf," Lydia suggests

"Brother, which one was it?"

"I don't know, does Malbourne sound more like a bosmer name or an altmer name?"

"Wasn't it Malbourn?" I asked

"Probably,"

"We should check the tavern," Lydia suggests

"Good idea," I say, "I'm hungry."

"You ate our entire food supply already, including all of mine,"

"I know, but that was a long time ago,"

"It was half an hour ago,"

"See?"

* * *

**Pov: L**

I gingerly play with a tankard of mead in my hands, trying to slide it across the table from one hand to another. I take a look to my right to see how the khajiit is doing.

And I immediately notice her face is planted on her plate supported by a few pieces of bread. I poke her a little. No reaction. I poke her again.

"NnnnnnnrrraaaWWWWRRRRRRRR"

I poke her again

"BANANA STRAWBERRIES!" she shoots up so quickly she nearly falls back on her bench, "oh gods, I had a dream where bananas teamed up with strawberries and began taking over the world,"

"I-I'm sorry," I quickly say, "but your brother finished talking to the elf. I thought… you might want to know."

"Is he buying sweetrolls?"

I doubt it but I look to check anyways.

"Yes," I notice

She runs up and hugs her brother from behind.

"You're the best!" she says

"Me or the sweetrolls,"

"You because of the sweetrolls!"

* * *

**Pov: M**

It's pretty loud in the tavern hall but the door was able to block out most of the sound. This is one of the better taverns I've seen in Skyrim, it's the first one with plants that are alive and can't be smoked.

"So… what now?" sister asks

"Malbourn helped me smuggle in some shit, I have to meet Delphine in a bit."

"What did you give him?" Lydia asks, I most didn't hear her

"Well…

"_I work there so I can help you get in some stuff. Nothing too big though and not too much."_

"_Can you bring in a sword?"_

"_Too big,"_

"_A knife?"_

"_Which one?"_

_I pick up a kitchen knife from the table_

"_Too big,"_

_I sigh_

"_How big is too big," I ask_

"_Anything I can't fit in my pocket,"_

"_Can you fit an apple in there?"_

"…"

"_Can you?"_

"_No,"_

"_How about an orange?"_

"_Aren't they the same size?"_

"_I guess they are,"_

_We sit in silence for a bit_

"_You should be able to get these in right?" I place a few ceramic containers and paper bags onto the table. There are a few of them each but they should be small enough. _

"_I should be able to get those in… what are they?"_

"_Don't worry about it, just don't put your finger inside and don't let it break."_

"_Fair enough,"_

"Oh, you still remember how to make those?" sister asks surprised

"I remember most of the materials, the positioning might be wrong though. It might just explode and kill me from the reaction but it should be fine"

"M-may I ask a question?" Lydia asks

"Of course,"

"What is it that you two are discussing?"

"Impact smokes!" sister exclaims, "it's a container with materials that creates smoke quickly when combined, do you have anymore?"

I toss one to her

She takes it in her hands and leaves her seat to go show it to Lydia.

"Oops," she says as her foot hits a chair leg

I sigh and regret giving anything dangerous to her, I suppose it's a good thing our tavern room's door is closed

* * *

I toss my sister out the window and help Lydia through behind her. I climb out it last and stop holding my breath as we land. I look up to see the smoke seeping out the open window.

"Wow, great work brother," sister says, "I haven't see one bomb make that much smoke since… since…" she trails off as she notices my expression

"Please don't hit me," she says

I sigh

"Don't worry about it, it happens,"

"Really?" she smiles

"No,"

Later

I give her ass a final smack as she jumps out of my grasp.

"You're so mean to me brother!"

"You detonated a smoke bomb in the middle of a tavern room,"

"I know," she scoots over and hugs my arm, "you didn't have to do that though,"

"It wasn't the first time,"

"I know~" she sighs, "but it was one of the first few times!" she adds

"It was the 36th time, 27th if you don't count the times at our house,"

"Psh, who remembers this stuff,"

"I do," I lay back onto the bed. Sister quickly follows and straddles herself onto my hip.

"That reminds me, brother," she says whilst looking down at me, "we have a new house now. You have to come back with me and see it." Back to Elsweyr, I'm not sure if I want to. I think I'd like to stay here for a while. I feel… new.

"Maybe one day,"

* * *

**Pov: L**

"I'm-" I begin to say as I open the door, "~back," I trail off as I try to take in the sight before me. My eyes turn to the naked khajiit and then quickly towards the thane she is straddling. Ka'itricia quickly notices me and greets me.

"Hi!" she says cheerfully, ignoring the tension of the situation

My thane looks to his sister and back to me and quickly back his sister and then right back to me.

"It's not what it looks like,"


	24. Embassy

**AN: It's good to be back**

* * *

I step off the carriage as we arrive at the embassy. The carriage driver waves me off and I make for the door. The first thing I see is another guest to the party.

"Came here by carriage huh? Quite the fancy one are we?" he says

"I don't know," I reply, "would I rather my feet hurt or would I rather my ass hurt?"

I see the next guest approach and begin my routine

"Halt, sire," I raise a hand, "weapons and any dangerous objects are not allowed beyond this point. Please declare anything on your person and they will be put in safekeeping for you until you depart."

"Nothing dangerous other than my dashing good looks," I cannot even count how many times I've heard this line.

"I hope you do not mind if we search your person,"

"Not at all, go ahead,"

I run my hands along his body feeling for anything out of place. I look back up at the man's face to look for any signs of anxiety. I see none, it seems like he's enjoying this. It doesn't look like he was lying, until I feel something long hard and grab onto it. A surprised look appears on his face, it looks like I've found something.

"Aha, I knew you had a weapon on you," I say

However, he keeps looking at me with his eyebrows raised

"That's not a weapon," he says after a while

I realise what he means after a short pause and suddenly notice my hand still has a tight grip.

"Oh," I jerk my hand away, "please go in,"

He shrugs and goes in

"Nice one," my partner says

"Shut up," I quickly reply

The heat radiating from my face is probably enough to melt the metal off my helmet. I touch my helmet just in case. Huh, it's still there, must be good metal.

"Hello," Elenwen says, "I don't believe we've met."

"I suppose we haven't," I say in a perfect nordic accent

"I- Are you ill?" Well, I guess it wasn't perfect after all

"Just a cough, nothing to be worried about," I reply, "and what is your name, my lady, if it pleases you?"

"Why, I am Elenwen-"

"The hostess of the party? I cannot believe I did not recognise you, I am truly ashamed of myself!" Mission change the topic was a success

"Ah, no worries, but now I am at a disadvantage."

"Oh?"

"You know my name yet I do not know yours."

_Oh shit, come on, think of something quick_

"There are some who call me… Tim." _Ma'yisha you fucking moron_

"Tim?" _Alright, Ma'yisha, this is your last chance, fix this _

"Yes, it's short for… Timmy." _Holy fucking shit, I am going to go back to Whiterun and stand inside in the Skyforge_

"Ambassador," an altmer lady interrupts us, "we have a situation," she signals to the other side of the room where there is an argument between a nord and an altmer waitress. The room was split into two sides, each defending their side and insulting the other, except for one man sitting on a bench who wasn't part of the argument because he was too busy being sad because he has no mead.

"Not again," Elenwen sighs and goes to attend to the 'situation'

"Well, I think you can come with me now," Malbourne says

I follow the elf in through the kitchen and to the exit. I throw off my coat and open the door. But before I enter fully, I remove the dagger from my pants.

_Can't believe the dagger in the crotch trick worked_, I think to myself

Later

The heavy snow provides good cover as I make my way past the two thalmor agents. Under usual circumstances they would have noticed me, but the snow fall mixed with chef's hat I found doesn't leave much room for that. I notice that there is a guard beside the entrance. I try to distract him by throwing random objects. He notices the sound but stays at his post. Time is running out, guess I have to blow my cover. I ball up some snow and throw it at one of the elves.

"Who did that?" he asks, turning around

A flying blade enters his face the moment it is pointed towards me

"Intruder!" the other one screams

The guard at the door quickly runs to the sound

I manage to sneak in only to find a few other guards. With a grip between the bricks, I begin scaling the wall until I reach the door to the ambassador solar. I press my ears to the keyhole and begin opening the door after I hear silence.

I hit someone with the door while opening it.

Oops

"Hey-" I quickly cut her off with a hand over her mouth. I keep my restraint on her and realise she's charging a spell with her hands. Before she charges it fully, I jerk my hand back and hear a crack. It seems like she was the only-

"Intruder!" someone calls. I was wrong… again

I quickly draw out her sword

I use it to slash at the first one who gets close enough and realise that the sword is still in the sheath.

"Ha ha ha-" I cut him off but removing the sheath and cutting his head off

Five or six agents are charging at me while two wizards are charging spells from behind them. Unfortunately, the agents are running pretty close to each other and the room does not allow for funnelling them. I can fight them, but not with spells flying at me, that'd be too high of a risk. I pull out one of the few bombs I brought and throw it onto the ground before me.

Fuck, I can't breathe

I can't see anything but that's not a bad thing, since no one else can see anything either. Crouching, I swing my sword randomly hoping there's someone in my range. There is. The first moment I feel my sword make contact, I jerk it back immediately. I reach out my free hand to catch the falling enemy. The back of the elves hood touches my hand and I swing my sword right below where my hand was cutting through the back of his neck.

The smoke is beginning to clear up so I can see some shadows in the cloud.

The first shadow is faced away from me and I stab at the centre of it. The sword easily goes through the cloak and through the heart. In one motion, I remove the sword and cut down the last enemy.

I look up. Two more mages left. It shouldn't be a problem.

I run towards the closest one and dodge a fire ball in the way. When I get close enough, I take a step off the wall to launch me at him. It wasn't fast enough as he summons a sword to parry mine. I use the force from his weapon to turn myself around and slash from the other direction but he jumps back and my blade misses.

Since when did wizards become better swordsmen than actual swordsmen?

I slip a ceramic cup into my hand and lightly crack the thin material. I throw it towards the thalmor, he blocks it with his hand but the cup breaks fully and hundreds of class shards fly through his fingers and towards his face. At this point in the fight, some might say I'm cheating. I, on the other hand wouldn't, I would say I'm winning.

He drops his sword, the ethereal blade disappearing into the air, and grips his eyes as he screams, blood flowing through his fingers. The elven sword enters his throat and comes right back out. He gurgles one last times and stops moving.

I look around the room, there's only one mage left.

"You can leave if you want," I offer

She looks around also

"Bye," she says and quickly runs off

* * *

**POV L**

"Where did you get these horses, mistress?"

"Still sounds sexual,"

"Ahem," I cough into my hand, "sorry,"

"I found these horses!" she exclaims

"Where?"

"At," she trails off, "the stables?"

"You stole these?" I ask

"Well, I borrowed them, I'm going to give it back… eventually,"

"Ka'itricia, we probably can't even go back to Solitude now. There's no way we're going to be able pay for these,"

"Well, if we give them back-"

"Then we would still have to pay the bounty because we stole them,"

"Will my brother be mad?"

"Probably,"

"Are you mad?"

"A little bit,"

"Nooo~"

"Wait, didn't you leave all our stuff at the Solitude inn?"

"…"

"You did, didn't you,"

"Noooooooo!"

"We'll figure something out,"

"That's true, my brother have probably found something of value in the embassy,"

"You think he'll give it to you?"

She looks at me the way as when I asked her if she wanted a sweetroll

"You're right," I sigh

* * *

**POV M**

I pocket another necklace and move to the next display case. Just a dagger, nothing too interesting, but I soon see a light glow coming from it. I slip the lockpick in place and turn it a little. Click. The case cover goes up easily and I pick out the dagger. It's obviously enchanted but I can't tell what it is. I jab the dagger into the chair, the chair catching on fire immediately. I guess it's a fire enchantment. I better leave before the fire catches on anything else.

I pocket the rest of any valuables I could find. The money I'd be able to get isn't any small amount. But I probably I won't get to keep any of them. I wonder what kind of trouble my sister got in this time.

After a while I find a torture chamber. I had expected to find a torture chamber earlier but I guess it's pretty deep in so that no one would find it. Although, it's the only thing the hallway leads to so I don't see how this chamber can count as hidden.

It's rather small for a thalmor torture chamber but not any less well equipped. I see two elven clad elves but can't tell if they are guards or torturers. Dropping to a prone position, I move closer so I can hear better.

"Where's Rudilin?"

"I don't know,"

"He was supposed to be here ten minutes ago, should we start without him?"

"Well, he's the only one with the key to the journal, and what's the point if we don't write anything down,"

"We can probably just write it on a sheet of paper," he bends down to search for paper and comes right back after seeing nothing, "looks like we have to- hey, we'd you go?"

I drag the body under the table with me and remove the knife from the back of his neck. The other one is still looking for his friend.

"God damn it where is that-" jumping out from under the desk, I cover his mouth with my hand and stab him with my other hand. I pull out the blade and stab it back into his neck just in case. Without making a sound, I drag him other the table also, making sure there's no blood on the floor.

Well, now that that's done, I guess I'm free to look around the chamber.

* * *

**POV L**

"Do you think he'll come out of here?" the khajiit beside me asks

"The sewers?"

She looks at me questioningly

I dismount my horse to see if the lid can be opened. I expect the horse to stay or the girl to hold its reigns. Instead the beast decides it's a perfect moment to escape.

"Wait, come back," Ka'itiria shouts after the horse. She kicks her own horse and starts chasing after it.

I look around me, realising I'm alone in deep Thalmor territory with nothing but a sword, shield and half a sandwich.

_Wow, _I think, _this is really, really not good. _


	25. Embassy II

**AN: Don't you hate those moments where you think up a great idea in your mind and then when you write it out, it's just cancer in text form? If there's no POV, it's the dragonfgt, it's been a while, I forgot what I named him. **

* * *

Another lock pick breaks in my fingers as I try to unlock the prisoner's last cuff.

"Damn I have no more," I draw the elven sword, "trust me ok?"

"What? No, fuck that, I need my hand,"

"Don't worry it will be fine," I ready my sword

"No no no no no, don't do it,"

"I won't hit your hand, promise," I begin the strike

"No, shit, don't do it,"

Clink, I miss

"Ok, see, I didn't hit your hand, now I just need to hit the chain this time,"

"Fuck, stop this shit, oh gods, I promise I won't steal anything ever again if I leave here with my hand,"

"No, look, see? I almost got it, just need to hit it once,"

"Wait wait wait wait!" he screamed as I brought the sword down again. It missed both the cuff and his hand and hit the wall beside again.

"Please!" he begged, "just leave me here,"

"No, watch, see. I got this,"

"SHIT!" he screamed as I tried again

* * *

**Lydia**

"Look," one patroller said to the other, "horse prints"

"Someone must have been here recently,"

_Please don't see me, please don't see me, please don't see me,_

"There are footprints over here too."

_Oh god, he knows I'm here, Mara save me_

'_You're on your own, bitch'_

What was that voice in my head just now? That was strange.

"Damn, the snow covers up where it leads,"

_Oh good_

"Hey, I think I saw something move in that bush,"

_Shit_

"Let's go look,"

I grip my sword; I guess there's no way to avoid this conflict now. I look again at my enemies. Two thalmor guards, I should be okay.

Probably

Maybe

I'm fucked, aren't I?

* * *

"See, fine, I told you,"

"Ahhh, let's not do that again." He looks at his hands, surprised they are still there

"Wait!" I slam my hand on his mouth. "I'm sure I heard something."

"Mmph?"

"Sh, pretend to still be cuffed," I whisper

He shakes his head and goes back to the cell. I close the door and find a dark place to sit in.

"Don't forget to get me out,"

"Yeah yeah, shut up,"

Two thalmor guards are leading Malbourn in, guess they found his trail somehow. I didn't hear what they said but that doesn't matter. They soon go into the cell and ask the prisoner for information. I run up, they easily hear me but it's too late for them. I hold a dagger in each hand, one for each guard. Once the blades are deep in their necks, I step back to let the prisoner stand up again.

"Thanks to you, they almost captured me," Malbourn says

"Well, technically, they did capture you. Anyways what happened?"

"Someone saw me bring you into the kitchen, I tried to tell them you were feeling sick but they had to check it out. Then the cook completely ditched me."

"I thought you said you dealt with the cook,"

"I gave her money to not tell but she did anyways, that didn't help her since she got arrested anyways," is this elf fucking stupid

"Tell me everything you told the cook."

"I said you were my good friend Ma'yisha who-"

I stab him in the throat.

"I'm going to be back in a bit," I tell the prisoner

"What the fuck, man? Why did you kill that guy?"

"That guy was a dick,"

"Oh, alright then,"

Great, now the thalmors in Skyrim know my real name. I might have a chance to find the cook before she says anything though, but there is no way I can just leave. The cook isn't going to defend someone she doesn't know, even if she tried the thalmor will get the information out of her somehow. The thalmors always do. Physical pain can and will override reason, that is a fact we must all accept in this harsh world.

I close my eyes and listen for any clues on where the cook might be. I wasn't sure what I was listening for. It might be chains, whips, screaming or just anything out of the ordinary. But I hear nothing, perhaps they didn't begin, perhaps she cooperated. Well, no time to ponder.

Crouching, I make my way back where I came until I come to a split in the hallway. I use a finger to feel the amount of dust on the ground. Unfortunately, I don't get much information from it. I'm running out of time. There must be somewhere to know where they went.

"Hey, what are you doing?" someone asks. I turn my head round to find a thalmor guard. We recognise each other as enemies in the same moment. She goes to draw her sword and I pounce on her. My left hand firms grips her right arm, preventing her from getting her weapon, my right forearm pushed into her throat.

"Uh oh," she says

"Where is she?" I yell at her, "where are they?"

"Where is who?"

"Oh, you know that cook that was at the party?"

"Oh, yeah, they took her down the hallway to the left."

"Thanks, now since you helped me, I'm morally inclined not to kill you,"

"Well, that's good," she says

"Oh well," I break her neck, "I guess I'll make up for it later,"

* * *

I follow the hallway like the thalmor guard said. Looking through keyholes, I cannot find a room where there is anyone inside. After checking a few doors, I find a door where I cannot see anything through the keyhole. I want to go to the next door but there is a chance that she's in this one. Well, I suppose I cannot risk it. Here goes nothing.

I pull on the handlebar and the door opens with a thalmor mage leaning on the door falling on his back in front of me.

"Huh," I say

"Oh," he replies

I quickly stomp on his neck and turn around to face any other enemies in the room. My eyes see about thirty thalmor and a khajiit tied to a chair. Well, I guess at least I found what I was looking for. Yay…

A blast of lightning knocks me back into the wall. I recover as fast as possible, but a guard grabs me before I can stand up. She pushes me back in the wall and raises her sword to strike. Like the genius I am, I instinctively smash my head into her helmet.

"Ahh!" she screams

"Ahh!" I scream

A fireball goes over my head as I duck and hits the guard, I spin around and elbows his jaw.

"There is really not a fair fight!" I shout

Unfortunately nobody cares and everyone keeps trying to kill me. I guess I should have expected them to stop, that wouldn't make too much sense.

I lean backwards to dodge a sword strike and punch her in the jaw. A thalmor to my left tries to stab me but I manage to jump forward in time for the sword to pass harmlessly behind me. I block a punch with my elbow and grab a guard's hand before she manages to strike me. It was at this exact moment I realised I still have a sword. I use the motion of drawing the sword to cut the throat of the mage closest to me. I swing my sword behind me to parry another strike and kick the person in front. I spin around to fight on to find thirty dead thalmor and a khajiit holding a dagger.

"That wasn't bad, kid," she says

"Holy shit, how did you do that?"

"Wasn't hard," she says, "oh I recognise your face, I've heard about you."

"Well,"

"How's Elsweyr doing?"

"Uh,"

"Actually, don't worry about it, I'll see for myself soon enough,"

"Are you going back?"

"Well," she looked at all the dead people, "I'm not staying here,"

"So-"

"Help me take off her armour," she begins taking off a guard's armour

"Alright," but before I can help, she took it off herself

"Hold this," she hands me her tunic

"Okay –"

"This too," she hands me her dress

"I-"

"And this," she hands me her shoes

"Is there-"

"Last thing," she hands me her underwear

"I don't think you needed to take that off,"

"Huh, you might be right," she takes her underwear back and puts them on

"So-" I begin

"Are you alright?" she asks, somehow having already put on the armour

"I think so, why?" she points behind me, when I follow her finger I notice an elven dagger lodged in my shoulder

"Damn it!" I exclaim

"Well, I'll help you get it out, hold still,"

"Maybe we should- AHHH!" she pulls the dagger out of my shoulder and puts it into her pocket, "FUCK!"

"Oh, would you like me to put it back in?"

"Not reall- AAHHHHH!" she jams the dagger back into my wound

"Well, I guess I'll see you around, kid," she slaps the back of my head and begins down the hall when two thalmor agents rush down the same hall. She swings her paws twice and rips out both their throats.

"That was unexpected," I say to myself, the dagger lodged back into my shoulder "I guess I'll go back now,"

* * *

**Lydia**

I parry the strike from one agent and jab him in the neck with my shield. I swing my sword and cut off his head. The other agent manages to get behind me and kicks me forward. I recover in time to turn around and strike at him. He parries it with his sword and jabs a dagger into my abdomen. My adrenaline drowns out the pain and I raise my shield over my head, the next strike harmlessly slides off the shield and I stab directly forward under the shield. Luckily, the sword goes through the plates and enters his chest. I push him off my sword, the dying elf sinking into the snow.

I lift up my chestplate to look at my wound. It's a little hard to see, so I put my hand there to feel it out. A sharp pain does through my abdomen and I pull out my hand. I'm bleeding quickly. I quickly bend down and search the two bodies for something to stop the bleeding. I sigh in relieve when I find a shirt. I tear it into strips and tie it as tight as possible.

I put the armour back in its initial position. I should be fine now. But then I heard a sound that makes the hair on my neck stand. It's the roar of a frost troll, I heard it once and I don't think I can forget ever again. I almost make to run until I realise something. _It might be where my thane is, _I think_, if I leave now and he finds me here, he won't think anything of it. Plus I'm injured, I can't fight a troll. _I step backwards slowly. _No, I can't leave here. _I stop, but I don't start moving forward._ He might not even be here. _I start walking towards the sound. _To kill a frost troll by yourself, that is an impressive feat _The fast walk quickly changes into a full sprint._ I will prove my strength, here and now._ And so I run towards my potential death, my will to demonstrate my abilities overpowering my will to survive.

"I'm back," I tell the prisoner, "I see you're still here,"

"Well, didn't have anywhere else to go- hey what happened to your shoulder?"

"I got stabbed,"

"Oh,"

"Yeah, so do you want to leave now?"

"Okay,"

So we open the trapdoor with the key and begin descending the ladder.

"Did you find the cook?"

"Yeah,"

"Did you kill her?"

"There was a very good reason not to,"

"Well, not my problem. I'm just glad that my life isn't in danger anymore."

Then a loud and familiar roar came from behind us

"What was that?" he asked

"Uh," I don't really want to discourage him, "a… rabbit?"

* * *

**Lydia**

I duck yet another swing from the troll. It's like as if they just cannot get tired. My grip on my sword tightens, I cannot stay on the defensive forever.

I rush forward and jump stab the troll in the stomach, leaving it there. Stepping back to avoid its fist, I jump forward again and kick the sword pushing it further in. The troll roars, either in anger or in pain. I push my advance with both hands holding my shield. Then the troll swipes at me and I keep blocking with my shield, the force of its strikes threaten to knock me down but I stay up and keep moving forward.

Smashing the shield into its head knocks it back, but it's going to take more to kill it. I prepare to continue the fight when I see familiar man come up from behind its shoulder.

"Lydia," my thane says, "fancy seeing you here," then he runs his sword across the beast's chest. It roars and throws him off beside me but he recovers back to his feet quickly.

"Hey," he says, "your sword is gone, need one of mine?" he gestures to several elven swords hanging on his back

"It would be helpful," I reply

He toss me a sword, finishing the fight was easy after that.

"Right, there's a door inside there, and you'll know it when you see it,"

"Aren't there a lot of doors in there?"

"Well, yes,"

"Then how will I know which one is the right one?"

"It will be locked,"

"Aren't all of them locked?"

"Well, yes,"

"So back to my original question,"

"Well, this door is special because… you see… it's made out of metal."

"Aren't all of them made out of metal?"

"Well…"

"Shall I punch him my thane?" Lydia asks, completely serious

"Not now,"

"No no no, don't punch me, here I'll draw you a map," the ex-prisoner scribbles something onto an old sheet of parchment. Lydia and I look at it together: it is nothing but two stickmen, an arrow and a door.

"I'm going to punch him now," Lydia says, matter of fact-ly

"Alright,"

"AHHHHH!"

* * *

"Sis, how are you," it's not every day you find a khajiit randomly sitting in the middle of a snowfield in northern Skyrim.

"I'm great, brother, how are you? Are you hurt? Would you like a drink? Maybe some snacks or-"

"What did you do?"

"What do you mean what did I- brother I'm sorry, please don't be mad."

"I-," I can't say I'm suprised, "I won't just tell me what you did,"

"I may or may not have accidently stole two horses and lost both of them,"

"What happened to your nose?" an icicle of blood is hanging down her nose

"One of them might have kicked me,"

"Well, I'm too tired to be pissed off right now, let's just go to Solitude,"

"Right," enforced Lydia, "we need healers and strong drinks,"

Well, I just need to pay off two horses right? Horses shouldn't be too expensive, but horses are not very common in Skyrim. In fact, horses are so rare that cavalry is nearly non-existent. Fuck, this isn't making me more confident.

Later

"I can give you two hundred septims for this,"

I look at the gold diamond necklace before me and back at the altmer,

"You're joking,"

"That's the best I can do,"

"It's made out of diamonds,"

"Two hundred,"

Damn, two hundred is a terrible deal. Selling at this price wouldn't get me even half the money I need to pay off the horses. I suppose I could just leave my sister in the Solitude jail and come back for her later. Hmm, oh well, I won't need this jewellery anyways, might as well. But I must think of a way to increase the price.

Several hours later

"It was like they didn't even know I was there!" she sobbed, "no what I did it was never –hic- it was never-"

"Have another drink," I said, handing her her cup

"Thanks," she said and downed the full cup of spiced wine, "where was I?"

"I don't really care,"

"Oh I remember now… it was like as though no matter what I did, it was never enough."

A few more hours later

"Nobody understands," she struggles to speak, "NOBODY!"

I don't even know how much longer later

After listening to the life story of a high elf, I finally made it out of the shop, having sold the necklace for a higher price. I've had many old people tell me their stories before, but this must have been one of the longer ones. Especially since this high elf has lived a few hundred years longer than everyone else. At least I sold the necklace in the end.

I examine the purse in my hand.

220 septims

It's going to be a long day


	26. Unlucky

**AN: I'd like to give a shout out to "The Unique Tale of Alduin's Curse" by maximsk. The story cured my cancer and caused my family to disown me. I also lost my job and my wife left me for a donkey with a dildo taped on his head. If you've never tried crack and would like to know what it's like, I highly recommend you to read his story.**

**Like always, don't forget to review if you have something to say. I'm not going to get pissed because of negative feedback, I'll just go squeeze lemon into my eye or something**

* * *

**Sis POV**

"Can I see it?"

"I'm fine," Lydia says as she turns to prevent me from a good look. I just want to help, why you won't let me. I try to move forward so that I can see anyways but she quickly turns again to move her front out of my view. She winces a bit at her own sudden movement.

"I was a famous doctor in Elsweyr, you know,"

"Were you?"

"Yes!"

"There are eighteen ways to make a healing potion, name one of them,"

Oh shit a quiz, I did not expect this

"Uh… wheat…" she nods, that must mean I got it correct, now I just need to guess one more ingredient. Come on, think… think…

"TOMATOES!" she shakes her head

"EGGS!" still no

"HORSES!" she's not shaking her head, now she's just looking at me funny

"Oh come on, do you even know yourself?" I challenge Lydia. It appears to have been a bad idea as she begins to list every single way to make a healing potion. I feel stupider with every word

"At least let me change the bandages," I say after my brutal defeat in the trivia game

"Fine," she complies after realising that refusal wasn't an option when it came to me

She turns to me and I undo her makeshift bandages. The last strip sticks a bit because of the dried blood but comes off after a tug. The wound actually looks like it's healing nicely already, I have no doubt it will be fine after a week. However, I see some fur stuck to it. I pull it off, causing Lydia to flinch. I should clean the blood though.

"Wait here,"

I leave the inn room and ask the barmaid to help boil some water. She nods her head and continues her task, when I go back to the room I find my brother in there.

"Oh, hi,"

He stares at me instead of responding

"You promised you won't be mad," I say

"I'm not angry, I'm just frustrated,"

"Promise you won't hit me,"

"Promise,"

I ran over to hug him only to have his hand on my forehead keeping me at an arm's length away from him

"Not now, sis. I'm busy," is he refusing a hug from me? Wha- why would you do that, brother? No! Brother doesn't love me anymore!

I bite his hand and begin flailing my arms randomly because it seemed like a good idea

"I don't have time right now," he pushes me further away. I really do not know what I do so I began singing

"Holy shit, fine, just shut up," he sighs and lets me hug him this time. Success, brother loves me again! He even pets my head. It felt good until his hand on my head became a pinch on my ear

"You're a lot of trouble, you know that?" he asks

"AHHHHH, MY EAR!"

A bit later

"Why the visit, brother?"

"Oh nothing, just need to get something," and with that he picks up my backpack

"Hey, that's mine," he continues searching until he finds a kitchen knife

"I need that," I try to prevent him from taking it

"For what? Cooking? Remember that time we hosted a meeting and you said you would cook for everyone?"

"Wha- you know what? You can take it?"

"Want to hear about it, Lydia?"

"NO NO NO YOU DON'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT," I start trying to push him out of the room

"Let me tell you what happened,"

"NO! STOP!" I scream

* * *

**Lydia POV**

Later

"Hey," I poke her

No sound

"Hey, don't be sad,"

She's still sad

"Why did he do this?"

"It's not that bad,"

"It's this bad," I reply

"Come on," I begin scratching the back of her ears, "it's really not that bad,"

"It's embarrassing~" she tries to sound upset but her purring gives her away

"It was a long time ago, I'm sure that doesn't happen anymore," her purring stops suddenly and she turns to me with wide, wet eyes

"Oh," oops, "I'm sorry,"

"Are you hungry?" I ask, trying to distract her

"YES!" she immediately forgets about what we were talking about

"Let's go downstairs, I'll get you whatever you want," I have no money

She happily runs over to the door, but as she reaches for the doorknob, the door shoots open hitting her in the face and knocking her down

"The water is ready," the barmaid says as she places the steaming pot on the table. Without paying notice to the pile of khajiit on the floor, she leaves the room, closing the door behind her

"Are you okay?" I worriedly ask, helping her up

"Mmmm," she moans. Blood is already starting to leak out of her nose

"You need to be more careful next time," I hand her some cloth which she stuffs into the wrong nostril.

As she takes out the cloth to put it in her other nostril, I dab a handtowel into the hot water. The water does its job of cleaning off the bits of blood and fur stuck to my wound. My injury is healing itself nicely with no signs of an infection, looks like I'm lucky this time.

The khajiit picks herself up and makes for the door, aiming for the food I promised to buy her. The door shoots open again knocking her back to the ground where she originally was.

"I forgot you need to pay for that," the barmaid said

"We'll pay when we leave," I reply. I'm shocked she managed to do that twice without noticing

When I look back, Kaitiria is curled up on the floor in a foetal position.

"Hey," I kneel beside her, "how are you feeling,"

She lifts her head to reveal that her other nostril is bleeding now too

"Lydia," her tears begin to mix with her blood, "I want to go home,"

* * *

**DB POV**

It was a simple job. I can see why some people would prefer more common work like this as to adventuring. Life is much easier this way, less to worry about. But as short as life is, it's an opportunity to change the world, for better or for worse. However, I wonder how much that applies to this situation, this does not feel like a normal job.

I look to the carriage driver. This job was simple, go with the carriage to Morthal. It's not far, I'll be back by tomorrow. Although I wonder the need for this security, there's four guards including me, all of them unique in their own way. Nobody guiding this carriage is a mercenary and it seems like nobody has more information than 'protect the carriage.'

A dunmer with dual swords, a wood elf with a bow and a nord with a potato surround the carriage. It is doubtful that four random people were plucked off the streets for this job. I wonder what we have in common

"Hey," the dunmer turns ot me

"Yes?"

"How much did the guy offer you for this shit job?"

"300, you?"

"Same, I thought it was weird he's paying 300 for guarding a carriage, must be something important in there," she says

"Yes, but none of us knows what it is or why it's in danger,"

"I think what I'm wondering most is why he decided to hire us, no one has ever asked me for a mercenary job before,"

"Me neither, since it'll take a while to get there. You want to talk?"

"Sure," I replied

We stayed silent for two hours after that

* * *

**Sis POV**

"Lydia," I poked her, it seems poking each other is how we communicate with each other now

"Have you recovered from your depression, my lady?" I'm getting the feeling that Lydia likes me a little more that before

"Septim for your thoughts?" I tried to pull out a gold piece but couldn't find anything, "uh, your thoughts?"

"Oh, I'm not thinking of much,"

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know," how boring

"It's too dark to go outside now. AHHH, THERE'S NOTHING TO DO!"

"Be quiet!" someone says

"Sorry!" I shout to the door

Lydia is curled up comfortably in the bed. I grab a random book and go join her.

"One thousand and one ways to cook horker," I read

I put the book back to get another

It's a lovely novel this time.

Soon after

I notice I ran out of pages but the story is not finished. Squinting, I look at the bookshelf to check if book two is there. It is, but I'm too tired to go get it. I guess I could just read it tomorrow.

"Mm," I hear Lydia moan, "what happens next," she mumbles into my shoulder. Wow, she's sleeping beside me without me having to tie her up! She must like me more now. Mission make Lydia your best friend is a success.

"Let's sleep now, we'll read the rest tomorrow,"

"Alright, goodnight, kitty," Lydia isn't really that uptight when she's tired, I kind of wish she could relax more. Wait, kitty? I'm not a kitty! I'm a strong independent khajiit and I will not stand for this mockery!

She begins scratching my head, causing me to forget everything I was thinking about and being purring

* * *

**DB POV**

Camp's already been set up for the night and the four of us are looking for a place to rest. There have been no trouble at all. The entire forest trail was clear, in fact there were hardly any wildlife. It was like as though everything in this area was killed.

As soon as I reach the place I was going for I realise the spot's already been taken.

"Hello," I greet

"Hi," she immediately spots me, "what are you waiting for, get up,"

I oblige and take a seat beside her.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who likes high places,"

"Well, you know the saying. Walk one step higher, see one acre further."

"True, but I mostly like it for the solitude," she says

"I'm not interrupting than, am I?"

"Meh, it's fine, plus we didn't get a chance to know enough better,"

"Well, you asked me which was my favourite race to fuck, followed by which was my favourite gender, quickly followed by which hole, so I think you don't need to know any more than that."

"You said none of your business for all of them, I know nothing about you!"

"And you don't need to know any more than that,"

"I'll tell you my favourite race if you tell me yours," she offers

"No thanks,"

"Mine's argonian,"

"I definitely needed to know that,"

"You know, I once made it a goal to fuck every race, only took a week,"

"I think I'll do that too," I say, "starting with dunmer,"

A leather boot to my face knocks me off the tree

I kind of expected this to be honest

The next morning

I wake to find myself inside a bush. Strange, I don't remember going to sleep in here. A quick look at the sun tells me it's still early in the morning but it looks like we're getting ready.

"Ponytail!" someone shouts, I quickly turn to the sound, "breakfast!" but too late as a loaf of stale breads hits me in the face.

"Thanks," I say as I peel the food off my forehead1

"Your fault for not catching," the familiar dunmer leans against a tree before me with a sandwich in her hand and a smirk on her face

"How come I don't get anything in my bread?"

"You didn't ask," she smiles and takes one more bite

"We'll be in Morthal soon, should arrive at around noon. This job still doesn't feel right though,"

"I know,"

"No, not that, I mean this is not the road a carriage usually takes to Morthal,"

"This is the shortest way there,"

"Yes, but it's not a route, a path but not a route,"

"Maybe the driver was asked to take a shortcut,"

"The driver is also off, it took him ten minutes just to attach the horse to the carriage, even I can do better,"

"New driver?"

"If this job was that important and that dangerous, they wouldn't hire a new driver,"

"But if they didn't want anyone to know, they wouldn't have hired a common driver either. But then why did they hire us random people, we'll figure it out soon,"

"…"

"Fine," she says and hold her food to my face, "you can have one bite."


	27. Day Off

**AN: If I have any readers that read this story from the beginning and followed it until here, I would like to say thank you. In case you're wondering what direction this story will go in, I genuinely don't know. Cheers**

* * *

It's morning of the next day but I doubt my thane will be back for a while. Deciding to take a walk around the city, I begin moving further into Solitude. After a short while, I hear the familiar sounds of guards training. But I realise that it doesn't sound like normal sparring.

"Again!"

*Donk

"Dammit, again!"

*Donk

"I got it this time!"

*Donk

"AHHH!"

The screams are shortly followed by the sounds of my mistress laughing. Now that I think about it, mistress does sound sexual sometimes. What else could I call her that couldn't be taken the wrong way. I suppose I could call her by name, if I can ever figure out how to pronounce it.

"Good morning," I try to say loud enough for her to hear but quiet enough to be polite. I end shouting good and whispering morning. Nice one Lydia.

"Oh," she turns back, "hello!"

"I was winning," the guard she was training with quickly says

"No you weren't," she says

"You're right," the guard replies

"You're up early today… k-k-k-something," I don't think that was her name

"Yep!" she says, seemingly not noticing my slip, "I woke up earlier and had nothing to do so I came here.

Now that I actually look, the training field looks a lot more pleasant than the one back in whiterun. For example, the training dummies are actually shaped like people, the archery targets are actually round and the weapons are blunted metal instead of wood, now that I think about it the training field in whiterun sucks. I have a brief flashback of the time half the new guards had to use brooms because there weren't enough wooden swords.

"You look like you fight," the guard says

"You don't," the khajiit cuts in

"Shush!" he continues, "want to spar?"

"You didn't even hit me once,"

"SHUSH!"

"Um, may I?" I ask the girl

"What? Go ahead!"

"Say, why are you sparring with random people anyways?"

"It's my day off today,"

"And you're spending it training? Most guards just get drunk,"

"Maybe if I train I will get better and senpai will notice me,"

"What?"

"Nothing,"

I go to the training weapons rack beside the regular weapons rack and pick out a sword. Upon looking at the weapons I notice something strange.

"Why do you have training quarterstaffs if you don't have any polearms in the city?"

"Um, I heard they were getting pilums imported from Cyrodil,"

I look to the staves and back to the man

"Pilums are javelins, for throwing,"

"Huh," he looks at the staves, "well, now we have a reason to buy some polearms."

"Oh! You should get scythes, those are cool!"

"Scythes are for farming, not fighting," the guard replies

"Imagine running into a battlefield with a scythe, wouldn't it be much more terrifying than a sword?" She has a point, but I doubt anyone can actually fight with a weapon like that. Maybe if the opponents were short, thin, immobile and are grass.

"Maybe- if someone learns to use one," I say

"See?" she draws out the sword, "she agrees,"

"Pft, are you fighting or not?"

"I am," I pull out a practice sword made of blunted iron. We move into positions in the centre of the field and touch the tip of our swords.

"Begin!" the khajiit shouts

I duck the first stab and strike the back of his knees, he is easily taken off balance and falls down.

"Lydia wins!"

"Again," he says, I nod in response

We return to the position. This time, he stabs first again but jumps out of my slash. Realising he is still recovering, I lean forward to kick him. His raised sword blocks my kick but he is taken off balance nevertheless, this gives me the time to punch the side of his helmet with my free hand.

"Lydia wins!" she cheers as he falls again.

"Ah, damn, you're better than I thought,"

"Well, what position do you have in the guard?" my mistress asks

"Uh," I think she might have accidently ruined his day

"I hope it's not something as stupid as quartermaster,"

"No, no not that," he says, I hear him say something under his breath but couldn't hear it

"Lydia is a commander!" she claps my shoulder, I do not like my previous rank used in this manner, it makes me feel strange

"You're in the guard?"

"Was," I quickly correct him

"Was? What happened,"

"I was made housecarl to the new thane,"

"The new thane? Wait, don't tell me she's the thane? That's not possible!"

The person in question reminds him she is a better swordfighter

"It's not her, that's his brother,"

"A khajiit thane?"

"No,"

"What?"

"It's complicated,"

"What hold were you commanding for anyways?" he begins to walk as he talks, it's quite an annoying habit when people don't even pay attention to you when you talk. I don't like it.

"Whiterun," I reply simply. He seems surprised at my answer, or as I can tell from his silence. His helmet really does not show anything.

"Wow," he suddenly grabs my hand, startling me, "Lydia?"

"What?" how does he know my name, I didn't tell him it did I? Why does he know it? Why does he care? Why is he grabbing me? I shake my hand a little. Stop touching me god damn it.

My mind stops functioning because of this overload of questions and I punch him in the helmet.

"My bad," I say

* * *

Before we knew it, it was night time again. Us four mercenaries sat down together for dinner. We each took out all of the food we had. There were 2 pieces of bread and a slice of cabbage in total.

"Fancy,"

"So, why'd you take this job?" the dunmer asks him

"I've been on the run for a bit. Came here all the way from Cyrodill, broke my cousin out of a Thalmor fort. No one should be arrested for worshipping a god."

"Hey, I took this job for nearly the same reason!" the nord woman exclaims

"A prisoner rescue on a thalmor fort?"

"Uh… no," she says, "I killed a thalmor envoy."

"Can't blame you, I guess,"

This is an extremely curious and suspicious situation. The dunmer looks at me worriedly.

"You too?" she asks quietly

I nod in response

"My friends," she stands, "I have a very very bad feeling about this,"

* * *

"We'll call it a draw then"

"You didn't hit me once,"

"I know,"

"Hey," I begin only to find a khajiit sleeping beside the weapons rack

"Don't do that, that's dangerous," the guard walks over to scold the girl

"Sorry," she yawns

"Look, you almost knocked this over- AHHH!" he shouts as the rack falls onto him

"Are you okay?" I ask. First there was no response, then after a short wait, a hand with an extended thumb emerges from the piles of swords and maces.

"You were pretty good Lydia!"

_But you didn't even watch_

"Want to spar?"

"Sure," it would be a good opportunity to see the martial potential of my thane's sister and my company

"Where's my fighting stick?"

_Fighting stick?_

The same hand sticks out from the pile of weaponry holding a staff.

"There it is!" she cheers and picks it up

We take our stance and bump our weapons against each other.

"How long were you in the guard for, Lydia?"

"Pretty long, I guess," I can't really answer properly as I'm focusing on fighting, not that I've been counting the years anyways

"Was it fun?" she says as she stabs towards my abdomen. I parry it away with my sword and continue pacing

"It's fair, I never had to worry about being hungry or not having a place to sleep," the food was never that good and I didn't get a proper bed until being promoted. But I got what my work deserved, maybe even more.

"That's good," this time I strike, she ducks easily and counters with a light bump of her staff on my leg, she's fast but doesn't hit too hard.

"How about you? What did you do before this?" Is this too forward?

"Oh, I was in the army!"

"You sound happy about it,"

"I know, I shouldn't," she sighs, "I've killed people and I don't feel very good about that. But I believe that Elsweyr is a better place and I believe I contributed to that. For that, I'm grateful."

She looks too young to have fought much, despite her obvious martial prowess. Her brother being a veteran would have been more believable with age difference, he's got to be almost ten years older.

"Was there… a lot of fighting there? I'm not very familiar with what's been happening south."

"There was fighting, yes there was definitely fighting. It was not a very big war, no, nothing like the Great War."

"That's good, I think,"

"What did you do before joining the guard?"

"I was-" I start quickly but trail off, "I- I-" I feel a little lightheaded as I begin to recall all the events that transpired which ended with me in Whiterun. The world around me starts to fade and I feel like I'm back to the time where I ran for so long. Thinking about it hurts me.

Suddenly the end of a staff comes into my peripheral vision, I try to duck but it's a little late now. The wood comes into contact with my temple and I lose my balance. I hear someone talking but I'm still a little dizzy and cannot hear too well.

"Lydia!"

"Huh?" I get to my feet

"Lydia!" she grabs my shoulders, "are you okay?"

"Fine, I just got a little distracted,"

"We have been out here for quite a while, let's get back to the inn, I'm a little hungry,"

"That sounds good," I say, relieved that the question was avoided


End file.
